The Unfortunate Wedding
by sailorsenshi7
Summary: Due to a series of unfortunate incidents, Rin and Kagome are forced into an arranged marriage with the most powerful demons in all of Japan; Lord Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. How will they adjust to these new changes and can Rin find it in her heart to commit to a demon as cold as Lord Sesshomaru? **Rating changed to M on Nov.18th***
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everyone! I've had a lot of positive feedback from a few of my other Rin/Sesshomaru stories, so I've decided to begin writing a few more in the hopes that everyone who reads them will enjoy it! Anyways, if you could please leave me a review to let me know if you're interested/excited about the upcoming story that would be lovely!**

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><p>"You can't be serious." I practically collapsed into the flimsy kitchen chair that was behind me, mouth gaping open in shock. My aunt had to be joking. Surely, <em>surely, <em> Aunt Francine and I were just having a simple misunderstanding.

That had to be it. **It had to be.**

"Nonsense, Rin. I couldn't be more serious. This union has been planned for quite a while and I expect you to cooperate."

"Cooperate?! Why on earth would I do that?" What she was asking was awful. How could she expect me to do something so abhorrent that I would surely whither away and die from misery within days. Aunt Francine batted her eyes in my direction, the enormous pile of makeup coating her eye lids making it nearly impossible to keep them open.

"You will do this because it is what's best for the family."

My cousin Kagome entered the kitchen through the back door, a crushed look on her face, arms wrapped protectively around her middle.

"What's wrong with you?" I practically snapped out in frustration. "It's not like they're trying to force you to marry someone you don't even know." Kagome's sad eyes met mine before the realization sunk in. Eyes wide, I turned back to my Aunt, fury evident on my face. "You pawned Kagome, your own daughter, off on one of these demons too?"

Aunt Francine glared at me before setting down the spatula she'd been using to flip a pancake. "I did what I did because it was necessary. We've barely scraped by for years and finally an opportunity presented itself and I snatched it up."

"She gambled away the house and cut a deal with the Taisho family. She bartered us away so she could erase her previous debts to one of their many casinos."

The Taisho family? I thought I was going to die. They were by far the richest family throughout all of Japan, which was evident by the many casinos and various businesses they had floating around the entire country. To top it off, the entire family was full of dog demons. They weren't gangsters of any sort, in fact they were all respectable businessmen, which made this deal all the more suspicious.

"I don't understand. Why the hell would they want two human women?"

Aunt Francine hesitated before answering. "I didn't exactly ask questions. All I know is that you are to marry into the family. Some sort of political spiel or another."

Political spiel? I rolled my eyes. I stood up from the broken and beaten chair and stood next to Kagome, placing an arm gently around her. "We aren't going to do it." Aunt Francine opened her mouth but I continued on. "I'm serious. I'm 21 years old and Kagome is 22. Hell, we haven't lived with you in years. Did you honestly think you could just sign away our lives and we would let you? What you're attempting to do is illegal and I'm not going to let you destroy both of our lives for your selfish gain."

Aunt Francine burst into tears. "They said they would kill me if the contract was voided in any way. Please," she pleaded, latching a hand onto Kagome's forearm. "You have to accept or else." She widened her eyes dramatically, crocodile tears flowing freely down her face, completely destroying the make up she'd recently applied. I wanted to rip her hand away from Kagome's. To be honest, I kind of wanted to beat her upside the head with the frying pan that held the pancake batter, but I resisted.

It took a lot of effort.

"I..." Kagome sucked in a deep breath before looking at me beseechingly.

She wasn't serious about this, was she? Did she have any idea what the fabled Taisho brothers were like? The eldest, whose name always slipped my mind, was some sort of closed off recluse who hated any and every human he came across, and the younger one, Inu-something or another, was such a playboy it was rumored he'd slept with over 10 women at once. Who does that?

"Kagome, don't." Now I was pleading, even though I knew the battle was lost. Aunt Francine had a mean streak in her and playing to Kagome's tender heart was one of the most despicable things the woman could do. Unfortunately, I was always stumbling blindly behind Kagome, trying to protect the heart she wore on her sleeve like a badge of courage. Aunt Francine knew that if she got Kagome to consent then I would eventually follow like I always did, especially in an unknown situation like this one. What if something bad happened to Kagome, even worse then all of this madness, and I wasn't there to protect her? It would kill me and Aunt Francine knew it, damn her.

Was I the only one in this family with sense?

"I'll do it for you, mother." Kagome whispered out, a lone tear falling from her lashes and trailing down her cheek. I sighed woefully. This just wasn't my day.

"They require both of you. Please, Rin. You must help your family." Aunt Francine turned to glare in my direction, all of her previous worries seeming to vanish into thin air. It had been like this since my parents died when I was younger. Aunt Francine would cry and mope about until Kagome felt bad enough to indulge her mother in whatever she requested and with me she would glare and spit fire in my direction until I eventually caved in order to keep peace among us, for Kagome's sake.

"You mean help you. If you had any true concept of family you would never have placed Kagome and myself into a situation like this." The words came out of my mouth like steel, but if anything I felt weak and defeated.

"What do we do now?" Kagome asked her mother.

Aunt Francine smiled brightly at her daughter. "You both are to pack a few of your possessions and meet back here by noon. There will be a car waiting to take you to your new home."

"Wait, you mean we have to get rid of our apartment? We just renewed the lease!" I exclaimed, obviously taken aback by the next proceedings. Where were we supposed to go?

"It's already been taken care of. You'll be residing in one of the main houses of the Taisho residence until they decide who is to wed whom." I glared at the terror in front of me.

"For someone who doesn't know anything about all of this, you sure have a lot of information on the subject."

Aunt Francine looked away, grabbing the spatula and peeling a burned pancake from the frying pan. "I was only given information to help you find your way to your new life."

Riiiight. Why didn't I believe that?

Kagome grabbed my hand before I could start another argument. "Come on, Rin. Let's go home and pack."

I sighed miserably, hoping to God this was some sort of nightmare.

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><p>"What if they decide we're just too pathetic to marry and let us out of this agreement? That could happen, right?" I asked hopefully as we entered our sparse apartment.<p>

"I wouldn't count on any miracles, Rin." Kagome's sad voice floated over to me as she crept into her bedroom and began gathering her clothes into a neat pile.

"But we were going to get a cat and everything," I whined pitifully as I made my way into my own measly bedroom, gathering what few possessions I had.

Kagome and I weren't rich by any means. A struggle for many came as naturally as breathing to any Higurashi member and we were no exception.

Kagome and I had recently both graduated college, thank God for scholarships, and were on our way to starting whole new, prosperous lives. I never imagined it would have been like this. Kagome had majored in interior design while I'd majored in Finance with a minor in Music. I'd always wanted to play the piano professionally, but I'd sought a more acceptable major, which would hopefully allow me to find a decent paying job more easily than music would have.

It had been a few months since Kagome and I had graduated, both with honors, and we still couldn't find a job that was willing to hire us. It was as if we were cursed and considering the terrible morning we'd both had, I was beginning to suspect that was a correct assumption.

I pulled out a ratty suitcase from under my bed, placing the only nice clothes I owned into it as well as a few nightgowns and a photo album of my parents and I when I was just a child. It was the only thing I had left of them and there was no way I was leaving it behind.

Kagome came into my room, knocking softly as she entered. "It's getting close to noon. Are you almost ready?"

"I just need to grab a few things from the bathroom and I should be all set." Kagome nodded her head before turning around and leaving.

Once we had everything we figured we'd need, Kagome and I left the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind us. The lock sliding in place was like a warning that we could never go back to our old life.

I didn't realize until much later how true that was.

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><p>We stood on the porch steps outside of Aunt Francine's house. I clutched my thin, old jacket around me, hoping to keep a bit of the chill from my bones. So far, nothing was working as it should have. Coats were supposed to keep me warm, but all this was doing was trapping the cold air into my body. I didn't even know why I bothered wearing it at all.<p>

I looked back to the house, noticing Aunt Francine was peeking through a window at us, trying in vain to be discreet. Kagome kept her head down, eyes intently focused on the scuff marks on her tennis shoes.

We made quite the pair, her and I. What kind of billionaires wanted to marry women who couldn't even afford decent footwear? Lunatics.

A car pulled in front of the ramshackle house and I eyed it warily. It was black and sleek, that much was obvious. Unfortunately, I didn't know a thing about vehicles other than it looked expensive.

Kagome sucked in a breath and I clasped her hand in mine, squeezing gently. "You ready to go, Gome?" She nodded her head and we both stepped from the porch, our suitcases trailing behind us.

A young demon got out from the driver's side of the car, rushing over to grab our bags from us.

"Good afternoon, ladies! I'm Shippo and I'll be your chauffeur until I'm given other instruction." The demon placed our bags in the trunk of the vehicle before opening the door for us, ushering us inside the warm vehicle. Sitting back in the leather, I almost fell asleep when a blast of hot air warmed my bones. It was heaven and I couldn't for the life of me remember the last time I'd ever felt so warm. Generally we couldn't afford to keep the heat going all winter and had to make do with plenty of blankets. Soaking up all the warm air was an addiction I wasn't sure I could shake.

"Where exactly are we going, Shippo?" Kagome asked, smiling brightly at the demon driving the vehicle.

"About an hour from here. The main manor, where we're going, is relatively secluded in the woods. It's about a twenty minute drive to the nearest town. The masters prefer it that way."

"Masters?" We both asked in unison.

"Ah, yes. The main manor belongs to Lord Inu Taisho. Scattered among the few thousand acres the family owns, Lord Sesshomaru holds his own residence as well as Lord Inuyasha, the youngest of the three dog demons."

"Do you know what they want with us?" I asked, although I doubted he had an answer.

Shippo shrugged slightly before answering. "Although it's never happened before, apparently Lord Inu Taisho has decided his sons need to establish more firm ties with the human world by marrying a few of its women. As I heard it, you two were a lucky find. Inu Taisho was uncertain how easy it would be to find wives for both of his sons since they both have peculiar...habits. Many women wouldn't agree into such a union unless they were only after the family wealth, but I've heard in your case there were different circumstances."

Kagome and I looked at one another. Different circumstances about summed it up perfectly.

"Thank you, Shippo."

I sat back and closed my eyes, hoping when I opened them again this would all be a bad dream.

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><p>"Rin, wake up. We're here." Kagome's excited voice whispered into my ear. I kept my eyes closed and pushed her away slightly, still feigning sleep.<p>

"I'm having a nightmare Kagome, go away."

The door next to me opened quickly, allowing a rush of cold air to practically soak through my entire wardrobe. I groaned audibly before opening my eyes and glaring at Shippo who had the decency to looked chagrined before smiling down at us.

"Come, ladies. It isn't wise to keep the masters waiting."

I stepped reluctantly from the vehicle, allowing Kagome to exit behind me as I took in the surroundings. It was true what Shippo had said about secluded. The entire manor was practically closed off by large trees, almost making it impossible to see unless you stumbled upon it by chance. What I could see had me nearly toppled over in shock. If the manor was large in my mind it was even more enormous in person. It was easily 7,000 square feet and that was just the 'main' manor. How much money did this family have?!

"Oh wow," Kagome exclaimed, all of her early fears seemingly abated as she took in her surroundings.

"Well, I'm glad you're in a better mood about all of this." Kagome shrugged before following Shippo up the large stair case that led to the front door. Reluctantly I trailed behind, hoping a black hole would form and suck me into oblivion before I entered the manor.

I ran into no such luck, my feet stepping over the threshold and into the foyer. I nearly sighed in wonder at the spectacular view in front of me before I quickly shook my head and rushed to catch up to Kagome and Shippo as they wandered to the left and down a long corridor. We seemed to pass several doors before Shippo stopped to set our bags down before knocking politely at the door in front of him.

Dread pooled in my stomach as the young demon's ear twitched. Obviously he heard something because the next instant he was opening the door gently and standing aside, allowing Kagome and I to enter the room of doom.

Although my mind was screaming in denial, my feet moved confidently into the large room, my gaze immediately landing on the most breathtaking man I'd ever seen in my entire life.

Well, demon.

He had long silver hair that cascaded down his back, bangs that framed a forehead that held a crescent moon design of some sort and magenta stripes on either side of his face. He stood stiffly next to two men, looking as if he couldn't be bothered to attend the meeting about to take place.

_You and me both, _I thought. An instant later his eyes flashed to mine and I sucked in a breath, completely stunned at the beautiful golden eyes that glared at me. Realizing I was eyeing the demon like a piece of meat I dropped my gaze, my cheeks heating until I was sure an obnoxious blush had formed. I looked at the other two males, easily identifying Lord Inu Taisho. The other son had a cocky look on his face as his gaze practically devoured Kagome, who was doing her best to look anywhere but at the demon eyeing her so hungrily.

That had to be Inuyasha. My gaze skittered back to the stoic demon. Lord Sesshomaru looked devastatingly handsome in the tailored black suit he had on, but it was the look of contempt he sent my way that had my hackles rising.

"Welcome, Rin and Kagome Higurashi. It is such a pleasure to welcome you into our home and into our family." Lord Inu Taisho spoke loudly, smiling at both of us as he strode forward and greeted us with awkward hugs. Pulling away, Inu Taisho eyed both of us speculatively before speaking aloud again. "We'll need to find you both acceptable clothing and food. You're both far too thin." I opened my mouth in protest, but shut it before a word was ushered.

Did I really want to piss off the man responsible for the rest of my life? Nope.

"As you're both well aware, I've reached an agreement with your mother and aunt. This agreement was made for a few reasons on my part." I cast another look at Lord Sesshomaru who glared back at me as if his eyes alone could melt me. Maybe they could. "First, I've realized that although I've taken a human woman to mate a few centuries ago, it has done little presently to assure the public that we are fair and just demons, merely out to mix comfortably with human society. By accepting two young human women into our clan we are stating to the world that even after a few hundred years of ruling, we are still on good terms with the humans. Second, neither of my sons have ever been married and each of them are at least 200 years old. Thus, I've decided to play matchmaker and have selected you two to become their wives."

Two hundred years old? I thought I might faint from the shock.

Inu Taisho clapped both of his sons on the back, clearly enjoying the obvious discomfort of every individual in the room. "Now, as much as I would love to choose which of you lovely ladies will wed my sons, I've left the decision in the capable hands of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. After this meeting is adjourned they will talk amongst themselves and select which one they see fit."

"I've already selected." Lord Sesshomaru said in a monotone voice. He sounded more bored than I'd ever heard anyone before. Wasn't he concerned about his own future in the slightest?

"Yes, Sesshomaru?" Inu Taisho looked quickly to his son, almost as if he couldn't believe Sesshomaru would be the one to decide first.

"The human who smells of lavender will be sufficient." With that, Lord Sesshomaru turned and walked away, not a care in the world. A door I hadn't noticed before appeared and Lord Sesshomaru stepped through it, the door clicking softly behind him.

Kagome and I turned towards each other, both confused. Who the hell smelled like lavender?

"Feh, I guess that leave you to be my wife, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled wickedly at my cousin, his eyebrows raised suggestively. Kagome's cheeks flared red before Inuyasha took her hand, leading her from the room. Why were they just leaving me here? I glanced awkwardly at Lord Inu Taisho before I moved my weight from one foot to another.

Then it finally sank in.

Lord Sesshomaru had selected me? What was I going to do now?

I stood in the room awkwardly before Lord Inu Taisho spoke up. "Give him time, dear. He'll come around." I looked at the demon lord, a sad expression no doubt written all over my face before he nodded slowly and exited the room, leaving me with my spiraling emotions. Inuyasha seemed more than excited at the prospect of obtaining Kagome as a wife and Lord Sesshomaru had just turned and walked out like he wouldn't have to lay his eyes upon me for the rest of my life.

_He'll come around._ The words echoed in my mind.

I didn't want him to come around, did I? Of course not. His eyes flashed into my mind, startling me momentarily. Surely I wasn't interested in that ass, was I ?

I shook my head in denial, but I already knew the answer.

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><p><strong>Okay, that's it for the first chapter! I was wondering if I should write more, but I wanted to get started on a second chapter as soon as I can, so I didn't want to make this one too long.<strong>

**Let me know what you think!**

**-Mo**


	2. Chapter 2

After a few minutes wandering the giant house by myself, I stumbled upon a weird toad-like servant who angrily directed me up two flights of stairs and down a long, seemingly never-ending, hallway and to a bedroom door. Then he left me alone and I found myself wondering if I was going to find my way back downstairs as I grabbed the door handle and gently pushed open the door, almost as if I expected a giant spider to lunge out and attack me.

I stepped into the large bedroom, sucking in a deep breath when I took in the general splendor of the room. It was almost as big as the entire apartment Kagome and I had been renting for the past two years. A giant four poster bed was straight in front of me, the mattress nearly coming up to my waist, which meant I was going to have to shimmy up into the bed while I could call it mine. One downfall of being short; everything was taller than me.

There was an antique mahogany desk to match the rest of the furniture, including a beautiful mahogany wardrobe. The detail in the woodwork was just astounding. It was obvious someone dedicated plenty of time and effort into making something so beautiful.

The walls were a lovely shade of light purple, almost like lavender.

I nearly blushed when I thought that.

I knew demons had more developed senses than humans, but he'd never even come near me, so how could he accurately know that I smelled like lavender? Then again, Inuyasha had snatched Kagome up so fast he had obviously known who Sesshomaru had been talking about. And they _were_ dog demons, so they probably had a pretty fantastic sense of smell. I sighed at the thought.

Not that I was loving this whole 'arranged marriage' nonsense, but Lord Sesshomaru was taking it to an entire new level. He had the potential to live forever (or several hundred more years), so why would he be so put off by something that would be a blip in his radar? Better yet, he'd chosen me like I was a hen at an auction, with little concern about me or anything. He knew I'd serve a purpose so he chose it like it was no big deal.

Well. It was a big deal to me.

I glanced at the suitcase of mine that was next to the wardrobe, waiting patiently to be unpacked. Sighing, I walked over to the object that did not belong in the room. Laying it flat on it's back, I unzipped it, taking out the few measly clothing items I owned and turning towards the wardrobe. Grabbing a handle and pulling it open, the clothes in my hand fell to the floor in disarray.

The wardrobe was practically stuffed with an assortment of business casual type clothing. Or clothing that belonged to a senator's wife. There were silk button up shirts, cashmere sweaters, extremely expensive high heels along the bottom, more designer skirts and pants than I'd ever seen in my entire life.

My first thought was that I'd been given the wrong room. I was _obviously _lost and unknowingly snooping through some poor lady's belongings. The next thing I realized was that all of the clothing looked brand new, there weren't even the faintest of scuff marks on any of the heels, and everything was in my size.

I was pretty sure this was my room. And those priceless things were my possessions. I could have fainted.

I shut the wardrobe with a sense of finality, determined I would wear my own clothing until it was expressed to me that the things in the wardrobe were actually mine to use. How foolish would I look if they didn't actually belong to me and I was off wearing someone else's clothes?

Looking around the room, I came across two doors that I had not searched through, so I made my way to the nearest, twisting the knob and pulling it open. To my horror, okay, delight, I opened up a door to my closet, which was also full of clothing. This time it had more of a variety, mostly a whole variety of gowns and shoes, silk underwear and matching bras, as well as purses, jackets, scarves and accessories.

I shut the door quickly and leaned back against it. Determined to stay strong. Did they think they could buy me with some silly wardrobe?

Although... If I was being honest, a part of myself wanted to throw my body into all of the clothes and roll around in them and all of their beauty. They were quite breathtaking and who was I kidding? I loved each and every thing I'd laid my eyes on. What a wardrobe!

If Kagome had a similar set up she was probably just as giddy as I was. Probably more so, considering she loved cute clothes even more than me. I pushed myself from the door and slowly made my way to the door on the opposite side of the room, dreading what awaited me beyond that door. I hope it wasn't more clothing. I didn't think I could handle it.

Pushing this door open, I was startled to find a giant bathroom, definitely the size of my old bedroom. It was complete with a shower, a claw-foot tub and a type of large cabinet situated next to the wide marble sink. The sink already held an expensive new electric toothbrush, various lotions, soaps, toothpaste, etc. There was a soft purple towelette hanging from the wall next to the light switch. I opened the cabinet door, feeling less startled than I would have been before the closet, to realize that was lurked inside was a variety of makeup that matched my complexion perfectly, as well as all of my favorite coloring of eyeshadow, just in a more expensive brand than I was accustomed. Also, there were shampoos, conditioners and body wash I'd always found myself staring at when I went to buy my off brand necessities, but could never afford.

It was both flattering and creepy that my needs had been met so well. How did they know what all I preferred? Then again, they were the most powerful family in the country, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd had someone follow Kagome and I both to make sure we weren't involved in the same amount of vices as my aunt. No one wanted to add a bad apple into the mix of the Taisho clan. It made sense.

Deciding that I needed a shower, I closed the door behind me, locking it before I started the shower and undressed, letting my old and tired clothing fall to the marbled floor, I grabbed a towel from the cabinet and set it on a hook by the shower before grabbing the shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

The hot water helped relax the sore muscles all over my skin, loosening up the shoulders I'd held rigid since I'd arrived at the manor. The soaps were luxurious and made me feel like a million dollars. Was this how people felt all the time when they showered with expensive things? If so, they must be extremely lucky.

Once I was finished in the shower, I wrapped the towel protectively around me and exited the room. I went over to where I'd dropped my clothes, but was startled when I realized all of my clothing was gone. Vanished, almost as if it had never been. What the hell had happened to my clothes? I searched the room over, thinking perhaps I'd misplaced them before coming to the conclusion that someone had come into my room and taken my clothes, leaving only my dirty shirt and jeans or the new wardrobe as suitable clothing options.

I cast a regretful glance at my old clothing strewn across the bedroom floor before I pulled open the door to the massive walk-in closet. I chose a deep magenta bra and panty set, sighing in ecstasy when the bra cupped my breasts lovingly. I'd never worn something so comfortable! Next, I selected a pair of skinny jeans that had been hiding in the back of the closet, a beautiful grey cashmere sweater and a pair of black flats. It was the most comfortable/least expensive clothing I could find to wear, but when I looked in the mirror I still looked like a million bucks. Everything fit perfectly and even the sweater accented the curves of my body.

I'd never paid attention to my looks before, but staring at myself in the mirror I felt like a desirable woman. And it felt good to think that.

* * *

><p>I came down from the room an hour later, having blow dryed and straightened my hair before deciding I was ready to face the world. Or more specifically, the dog demons. Halfway down the first set of stairs I heard Kagome shriek and I was glad for the flats on my feet as I ran towards the sound of her indignant wailing.<p>

"How dare you...You dog!" I winced at the insult, coming around a corner to watch as Kagome slapped her intended husband across the face, Inuyasha letting it happened before he laughed.

"Come on, Kagome! You know we're going to have sex eventually, right? Why not now?" Wow. I guess they weren't joking about his reputation.

Kagome was poised to strike him again when I grabbed her hand, stilling her actions.

"He's just trying to get your riled up." Inuyasha smirked at both of us, eyeing my clothing speculatively.

"I see my brother didn't waste any time getting you a wardrobe." I blushed slightly when Kagome looked me up and down.

"I didn't think the new clothes were his doing." He'd purchased all those things for me? How did he already know he would pick me when we'd never even met?

"Heh. I'm sure he had a servant get all the things you'd need. I should have thought about that for you, Kagome." Inuyasha cast a beseeching look in her direction. "Forgive me for not considering you like I should have." He picked up her hand and kissed it before turning and practically disappearing in front of our eyes.

"Well that was weird."

Kagome looked at my clothes, regretfully changing the subject. "You look great, Rin."

I blushed again. I wasn't used to people throwing compliments in my direction. "Thanks, Kagome. Did you want to borrow some of the clothes in my room until Inuyasha gets you something of your own?" A selfish part of me dreaded sharing my closet of wonders, but I knew better than that. Kagome and I shared everything and I'd never minded before.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm sure Inuyasha will get me something soon. After all, he's the one who wants to have sex with me right this second. At least you know that Lord Sesshomaru must care for you."

"He barely even noticed me, Kagome. I'm sure he just had someone go fetch some things for me and thought nothing of it after that." I sighed wistfully. "At least your future husband is hanging around you. Sesshomaru bailed as soon as he could. The next time I see him will probably be at the wedding," I joked, trying to cheer Kagome up.

"Yeah." Eyes widening, Kagome grabbed my hand and dragged me down the last set of stairs before heading to the right and leading me away from the main part of the house.

"Kagome, slow down!" I cried as her longer legs pulled me in places I'd never seen yet. "Are you sure we can just be going through the manor like this? It feels wrong."

"It's fine, Rin! I just want to show you something."

The next large room we entered was obviously a type of ballroom. The floors lacked any carpet and the only piece of furniture in the room was a beautiful piano forte and a bench.

I gasped sharply, practically pushing past Kagome in my haste to sit down and stroke the keys. "Oh Kagome, it's beautiful!"

Kagome smiled sadly. "I was hoping you could play me something happy to cheer me up." I looked at my older cousin, a look of indecision playing across my face.

"Okay, but you have to give this song a chance first. I think it plays into our circumstances pretty well. Plus, you've heard it a thousand times already." Kagome nodded in my direction, moving to sit next to me on the bench.

I placed my hands lovingly on the keys before I began playing, allowing myself to get a feel for the instrument I was about to play. I made sure it was tuned properly before I started playing.

The music came out as a haunting melody and I began to sing softly to Kagome.

"**Dear future husband,**

**Here's a few things**

**You'll need to know if you wanna be**

**My one and only all my life.**"

I let the last note on the piano die as the last word of the verse trailed from my lips. A second later I picked up the tempo and began the upbeat song, swaying gently with the tune as I sang.

**Take me on a date**  
><strong>I deserve a break<strong>  
><strong>And don't forget the flowers every anniversary<strong>  
><strong>'Cause if you'll treat me right<strong>  
><strong>I'll be the perfect wife<strong>  
><strong>Buying groceries<strong>  
><strong>Buy-buying what you need<strong>

**You got that 9 to 5**  
><strong>But, baby, so do I<strong>  
><strong>So don't be thinking I'll be home and baking apple pies<strong>  
><strong>I never learned to cook<strong>  
><strong>But I can find a hook<strong>  
><strong>Sing along with me<strong>  
><strong>Sing-sing along with me (hey)<strong>

**You gotta know how to treat me like a lady**  
><strong>Even when I'm acting crazy<strong>  
><strong>Tell me everything's alright<strong>

**Dear future husband,**  
><strong>Here's a few things you'll need to know if you want to be<strong>  
><strong>My one and only all my life<strong>  
><strong>Dear future husband,<strong>  
><strong>If you wanna get that special lovin'<strong>  
><strong>Tell me I'm beautiful each and every night<strong>

**After every fight**  
><strong>Just apologize<strong>  
><strong>And maybe then I'll let you try and rock my body right<strong>  
><strong>Even if I was wrong<strong>  
><strong>You know I'm never wrong<strong>  
><strong>Why disagree?<strong>  
><strong>Why, why disagree?<strong>

**You gotta know how to treat me like a lady**  
><strong>Even when I'm acting crazy<strong>  
><strong>Tell me everything's alright<strong>

**Dear future husband,**  
><strong>Here's a few things<strong>  
><strong>You'll need to know if you want to be<strong>  
><strong>My one and only all my life (hey, baby)<strong>  
><strong>Dear future husband,<strong>  
><strong>Make time for me<strong>  
><strong>Don't leave me lonely<strong>  
><strong>And know we'll never see your family more than mine<strong>

**I'll be sleeping on the left side of the bed (hey)**  
><strong>Open doors for me and you might get some kisses<strong>  
><strong>Don't have a dirty mind<strong>  
><strong>Just be a classy guy<strong>  
><strong>Buy me a ring<strong>  
><strong>Buy-buy me a ring, babe<strong>

**You gotta know how to treat me like a lady**  
><strong>Even when I'm acting crazy<strong>  
><strong>Tell me everything's alright<strong>

**Dear future husband,**  
><strong>Here's a few things<strong>  
><strong>You'll need to know if you want to be<strong>  
><strong>My one and only all my life<strong>  
><strong>Dear future husband,<strong>  
><strong>If you wanna get that special loving<strong>  
><strong>Tell me I'm beautiful each and every night<strong>

**Future husband, better love me right**

The final note finally died before I cast a wary glance in Kagome's direction, hoping she wouldn't be even more upset about the song choice. I expected tears and possibly anger, but what I didn't expect was to see Lord Sesshomaru lurking in the doorway to the ballroom, staring intently at me as if he could see straight through me. I stood up quickly, nearly tripping over the bench as I quickly moved away from the piano as if it had burned me. Oh God. How long had he heard me singing about future husbands and what they were expected to do for their wives? Judging my the slight look of exasperation on his face, I would wager he'd been present for the entire song. Oh God.

Why couldn't the floor swallow me whole and leave Kagome with this disaster?

"I.. I'm sorry, should we be in here?" I didn't let him answer, rambling on. "We shouldn't be here. Right. Okay, Um. Well, hi. It's nice to meet you. I mean, kind of." Kagome's eyes bulged at the insult. Sesshomaru remained still, watching me squirm. He probably enjoyed the flurry of emotions racing through me. My face heated under his scrutiny. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I mean, not like that. What I meant was," I blew out a breath to steady my heartbeat, "that I'm sorry we were in a room we shouldn't have wandered into and that I'm Rin and it's nice to meet you." I walked forward and put out my hand, hoping he would shake it.

Ever so slowly, the beautiful creation before me reached out and grasped his warm hand in mine, not quite holding hands, but close. I felt a shock go through my body, nearly numbing my hand before he jerked his own hand back, letting it rest down at his side.

How weird...

"Thank you for the clothing, Sesshomaru." His eyebrow quirked at the comment. Or maybe it was the lack of title when I addressed him. "I'm sorry, would you prefer if I called you Lord Sesshomaru?"

"What I prefer is none of your concern." His dry voice scalded me like a brand, making me feel like an idiot.

"Excuse me, _Lord_ Sesshomaru, but I beg to differ. If I'm going to be with you for the rest of my life, then I would prefer know your likes and dislikes as well as your interests. Being forced into an arranged marriage isn't exactly a picnic for me either, but I would hope we could make it as painless as possible for one another."

"Hn." Lord Sesshomaru turned on his heel to leave, pausing only to say, "Lord Sesshomaru is preferable. You might eventually become my wife, however, that does not mean you will fail to show me the proper respect." I almost rolled my eyes, but I had a feeling he would be able to sense it. "You play quite beautifully, even if your selection of music was less than tasteful." With that, Lord Sesshomaru walked slowly from the room, not even sparing a glance in my direction as he did so. I wanted to call him any and every name in the book for being so pigheaded, but then I bit my tongue. Had he just complimented me? Sure, it was veiled with an insult, but he had in fact complimented the performance. Maybe he wouldn't hate being married to a human as much as I would have expected.

"Well," Kagome said as she came to stand next to me. "I don't feel so bad about being paired with Inuyasha now. I'm sorry Rin, he seems awful."

My thoughts weren't focused on the harsh words he'd given me, rather, they were on the peace and joy I'd felt when his hand enveloped mine.

What was wrong with me?


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews so far! Anyways, I've decided that this fanfic is going to focus a bit on Rin and her piano skills. Gives it a nice little twist so our main girl isn't just twiddling her thumbs in the scenes that don't involved Lord Sesshomaru. I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

><p>Later that evening Kagome and I both realized we lived across the hall from one another, much to our surprise and happiness. When we arrived back to our rooms after a delicious yet lonely dinner, Kagome opened her room and squealed in delight at the bags full of clothing that had been left for her. I smiled, happy that she was having a better night than she'd had earlier in the day.<p>

"Do you want help putting away your bundle of goods?" I walked into the room after her, noting that her room had more of a dull red shade to it in comparison to my purple room. Funny, it kind of reminded me of each of the brothers. Sesshomaru had purple markings along his face, and who knew where else, and Inuyasha had been wearing a red shirt the same shade as Kagome's bedroom.

I was sure it meant nothing, but still. It was quite a coincidence.

"Oh yes, Rin. Come on in. Isn't this room beautiful?" Kagome ran to her bed and jumped onto it, having the same height issue I'd come across with the mattress. She sighed blissfully and leaned back into the pillows, silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Is it weird that I feel better than I have in a while? I mean, I know this whole marriage thing is awful, but it feels nice to be taken care of." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"So, why were you slapping Inuyasha in the face when I found you earlier?" Kagome blushed before sitting up, keeping her gaze focused on the bags in front of her as opposed to me.

"He and I were... getting acquainted, I guess you could say and he tried to have sex with me and I told him no. So he implied that there wasn't much point in having a frigid wife who wouldn't sleep with him whenever he felt like it. So I smacked him in the face."

"So if you weren't having sex with him, how exactly were you 'getting acquainted'?"

"I may or may not have been making out with him and a few other things in his bedroom. On his bed." I grinned widely, coming over to the bed and shoving her off of it.

"You're such a tease, Kagome! No wonder the poor guy thought you were going to have sex with him. I'd have been thinking the same thing!"

Kagome sat up, pushing herself from the floor and walking over to the bags, sighing in delight when she pulled out the beautiful fabrics.

"Well, I didn't think about it like that at the time, but now I feel awful. Oh God," she whispered. "I am a tease! Oh Rin, what am I going to do now?"

"You could always have sex with him." Kagome gasped.

"Oh come on, Kagome. It's not like you're a virgin. I remember Hojo sneaking out of our apartment at all hours of the night when you two dated. Besides, would sex with your future husband have been so terrible? After all, you were obviously attracted to him if you two were fooling around like a bunch of teenagers, you know?"

Kagome seemed to consider what I was saying before she shook her head, pulling yet another item from one of the bags. "I see what you mean, but I don't want to start that type of relationship with him. We're going to be married and that's fine with me, but I want him to get to know me mentally before he gets to know me physically. It's the principal of the thing. Besides, it's not like your virginity will be in danger anytime soon, so you don't even have to worry about any of this kind of stuff."

"You do realize that I'll have to have sex with Sesshomaru at some point in order to consummate this marriage, don't you? I have even more right to be worried than you do, because unlike Inuyasha, I don't think Sesshomaru has ever wanted to sleep with a human, which leaves me more nervous than ever. How am I expected to compete with all of those demon women if he doesn't even give me a chance to best them? I think his mind is already made up, and I don't think he likes me very much."

Kagome set the items she was holding on the bed before reaching over and pulling me into a hug. "Don't say that, Rin. He knew you were the one playing the piano and he still came in to watch you perform. If he'd been displeased he either would have stopped us or just left and not let you see him. I think he sought you out to spend time with you, even if he doesn't ever admit it. He snapped you up, after all. There's got to be something about you he likes."

"Yeah, I don't smell like a drowned rat." I sniffed, leaning into the hug. The momentary comfort was what I needed to steel my resolve to become better acquainted with the demon who was going to be my husband. I just needed to figure out a way to do that.

* * *

><p>My bed was too soft.<p>

Or the silk nightgown was too comfortable.

Either way, I was having difficulty falling asleep. It had to be late into the night and I'd been tossing and turning for hours. I shouldn't have been surprised, this day had been the most awkward day of my life by far. Did I expect to sleep like a rock in an unfamiliar house?

Groaning in irritation, I sat up and my hands began to fidget with my nightgown. It was silky and magenta, the straps doing little to cover my shoulders and the length a few inches above my knees. There was white lace that embroidered the bust and end, making it almost a sexy outfit. I slipped on the matching robe, which came to the same stop above my knees as the gown, and tied the robe around my waist.

I left the bedroom, knowing I wouldn't get any more sleep until I played something on the piano. Oftentimes when I was nervous or just needed a distraction, the piano was my ally when I found myself in a tough spot. I didn't expect to disturb anybody, as the piano was a few floors down from Kagome's room. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru lived in different houses spaced around the property and Lord Inu Taisho had left on business earlier in the day and wouldn't be returning for a few days. Kagome and I were told to treat the home as if it were our own and do whichever pleased us in his absence. The staff had gone home for the night, promising to return bright and early the next day, so Kagome and I were by ourselves.

I walked quietly down the stairs, my toes cold on the marble stairs. A few more steps and I was finally down on the main floor, working my way back to the beautiful piano I'd barely made friends with earlier.

When I entered the ballroom it was as if my heart stopped and started all at the same time. My affection for music, pianos mostly, was unlike any passion I'd ever experienced before. I even had a nice voice, although both weren't enough to get me a full scholarship into the most prestigious Arts college in Japan, mostly due to my aunt and her situation. The school looked in on parents as well as the students applying and they didn't approve of my aunt, there denying me a full scholarship, even though I had been accepted into the school on a partial scholarship. Unfortunately for me, it was still too expensive and I'd been forced into a smaller, less substantial college, where although I could still focus on my music, it had taken a back burner when it came to my major, which was Finance.

Untying the robe, I slid it off and placed it on the bench. I sat down on the bench, ignoring the cool wood against the back of my thighs before I lifted the covering on the keys and began to play.

I chose a Bette Midler song, enjoying the easy flow of the keys under my fingers.

**Some say love, it is a river**  
><strong>That drowns the tender reed.<strong>  
><strong>Some say love, it is a razor<strong>  
><strong>That leaves your soul to bleed.<strong>  
><strong>Some say love, it is a hunger,<strong>  
><strong>An endless aching need.<strong>  
><strong>I say love, it is a flower,<strong>  
><strong>And you its only seed.<strong>

**It's the heart afraid of breaking**  
><strong>That never learns to dance.<strong>  
><strong>It's the dream afraid of waking<strong>  
><strong>That never takes the chance.<strong>  
><strong>It's the one who won't be taken,<strong>  
><strong>Who cannot seem to give,<strong>  
><strong>And the soul afraid of dyin'<strong>  
><strong>That never learns to live.<strong>

**When the night has been too lonely**  
><strong>And the road has been too long,<strong>  
><strong>And you think that love is only<strong>  
><strong>For the lucky and the strong,<strong>  
><strong>Just remember in the winter<strong>  
><strong>Far beneath the bitter snows<strong>  
><strong>Lies the seed that with the sun's love<strong>  
><strong>In the spring becomes the rose.<strong>

I sighed happily to myself, although in my opinion the song I'd just sang was a bit sad. I'd never get the chance to experience a growing love, as delicate as a flower. I was tied to a man that would rather cut me loose than spend any time with me. Which led me to my next song.

**Well you only need the light when it's burning low**  
><strong>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**  
><strong>Only hate the road when you're missin' home<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>  
><strong>And you let her go<strong>

**Staring at the bottom of your glass**  
><strong>Hoping one day you'll make a dream last<strong>  
><strong>But dreams come slow and they go so fast<strong>

**You see her when you close your eyes**  
><strong>Maybe one day you'll understand why<strong>  
><strong>Everything you touch surely dies<strong>

**But you only need the light when it's burning low**  
><strong>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**  
><strong>Only hate the road when you're missin' home<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Staring at the ceiling in the dark**  
><strong>Same old empty feeling in your heart<strong>  
><strong>'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast<strong>

**Well you see her when you fall asleep**  
><strong>But never to touch and never to keep<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you loved her too much<strong>  
><strong>And you dived too deep<strong>

**Well you only need the light when it's burning low**  
><strong>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**  
><strong>Only hate the road when you're missin' home<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**And you let her go **  
><strong>And you let her go<strong>  
><strong>Will you let her go?<strong>

**'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low**  
><strong>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**  
><strong>Only hate the road when you're missin' home<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low**  
><strong>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**  
><strong>Only hate the road when you're missin' home<strong>  
><strong>Only know you love her when you let her go<strong>

**And you let her go**

I stopped playing, my heart now heavy, which was the exact opposite of what I'd come down there to do. Generally playing the piano made me heart soar, yet I felt so alone, so unwanted. Only here to fill a purpose to make Sesshomaru look better to humankind.

"Do humans not require much sleep?" The voice came from almost directly behind me, startling me into flailing backwards, the silk of my gown causing me to slip and fall backwards. I'm sure I would have fallen, but strong arms wrapped around my middle pulling me up and to my feet. I inhaled quickly when my back was pressed fully against Sesshomaru, another jolt going through my body when we made skin on skin contact.

He released me immediately and I turned as quickly as I could to face him, expecting to see him in some sort of pajamas. Instead, he wore the immaculate suit he'd had on since I'd met him that morning.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm starting to think demons don't need any sleep either. What are you doing here?"

His own eyebrow rose, obviously not enjoying the question I'd asked him.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

"I heard you playing. I didn't realize the sound of a piano could be soothing to one such as I, yet I have a difficult time ignoring it."

"You could hear it all the way to your house? I'm sorry, I had no idea!" I nearly bowed, seeking forgiveness but stopped myself. Why the hell would I bow? I shook my head, clearing away any momentary confusion I might have had. I looked down to avoid his gaze and immediately turned a deep shade of red.

I was in a nightgown that left almost nothing to the imagination. Turning quickly, I bent at the waist to pick up the robe that had fallen, unaware that my nightgown had slid up, exposing the underside of my ass until a clawed hand grabbed me around the middle, dragging me back against the hard body of Lord Sesshomaru.

"What are you doing?" I stammered out as he pulled my long black hair to one side, exposing my neck. With one arm still gripping my hair and the other around my waist, Sesshomaru bent his head down to my neck, inhaling deeply when his nose met my skin. I shivered from the contact, yet my body tensed. I'd never been in a compromising situation like that with a member of the opposite sex, let alone a demon who up until a few seconds ago I could have sworn didn't desire me in the slightest. Little did I know.

Sesshomaru ground his hips against my backside, his erection evident as he did so. A noise like a growl made it's way from his throat and a few seconds later his tongue darted out to lick along the column of my neck.

"What are you doing," I repeated, my hands reaching down to clasp the forearm around my middle, holding on to Sesshomaru for support. I barely knew him and yet I felt so drawn to him, so incredibly enticed by what he was doing, I could barely control myself.

Sesshomaru's entire body tightened at my words, almost as if he hadn't been expecting himself to have that type of reaction either. Dropping his hands to his side, he stepped back from me, allowing me to turn around. My entire body trembled in anticipation, but Sesshomaru looked as bored as ever, only a slight reddening in his eyes making me think something had actually just happened between us.

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell had just happened, but nothing came out. I was speechless for the first time in my life and my body felt like it was on fire. If I was that bothered just from him licking my neck, I didn't want to know how it felt if he licked other parts of me.

Okay, I definitely did want to know.

Lord Sesshomaru glared at me, anger outlining every inch of his body as he stared me down, waiting for me to squirm. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared right back at him. We stood there in silence for a few minutes, neither of us wanting to admit defeat.

Finally I snapped, "Don't glare at me like that. I didn't drag you over here and lick your neck."

Sesshomaru stepped closer, anger evident on his features. "You dare speak to one such as me in such a tone?"

"You dare to seduce me and then act like it's my fault?" Two could play the blame game.

Sesshomaru scoffed, the look he sent in my direction making me feel like I was an insect under a telescope. "It would take more than a pathetic human to entice me." Disdain dripped from his every word, and I felt his disdain like a slap across the face.

Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to burst over at the next harsh word. "I don't know what just happened here, and right now I don't care, but don't you ever insult me like that again and for the love of God, stop trying to pretend that I'm nothing to you. Good night, Lord Sesshomaru." I turned on my heel and walked quickly from the ballroom, not sparing a glance behind me. I'd left my robe on the floor, but there was no way in hell I was going back in there.

* * *

><p>I returned to my room before I collapsed onto the bed, crying into my pillow, hoping it would drown out my sobs.<p>

Why was I here? Why was I getting myself into such a mess with Lord Sesshomaru when it was obvious he wanted nothing to do with me. Well, it was less obvious after the incident downstairs, but he made it clear that he hated that he was drawn to me in any way, no matter if it was by my music or physically.

I needed to think of Kagome. I couldn't just leave her here with these demons, could I? Besides, Aunt Francine had told us we both had to be in the arrangement otherwise everything would be null and void. I had to think of the happiness of others, not just myself. It was apparent that Kagome already had feelings for Inuyasha and his haste to provide for her made me think he might have a soft spot for my cousin. Who knew what could develop between the two? Did I really want to stand in the way of any of her potential happiness? No, I didn't.

But I didn't want to spend the rest of my life feeling miserable. I just wished I knew what to do.

That was the last thought in my head before I drifted to sleep.

Little did I know, Lord Sesshomaru was on the other side, robe wound tightly in his hand as he listened to me cry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much for the reviews! I was pretty excited that I'd received 15 reviews in two days! Normally my RinxSessh stories don't get as much attention as I feel they deserve, but I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story as much as i am writing it! Please feel free to favorite the story and leave me a review, I love hearing from each and every one of you!**

**Thanks again to;  
>Sr. Spanky Mcfluffy-ten, Janestone, Ama Zon, L.M.T.O.P., marikyuu, fabi16lachikita, Kibachow (thanks for reviewing every chapter so far!), Carmen, jj, sesshyrin4life, TheNewGeneration, and the other guests that have been kind enough to leave me reviews. I hope I didn't leave anyone out, and if I did I'll try to add you on the next chapter !<strong>

* * *

><p>A few days passed since my run in with Lord Sesshomaru and I was dreading the next time I would be forced into an encounter with him. I hadn't divulged to Kagome what happened my first night when I'd been alone with Lord Sesshomaru, mostly because I wasn't sure how to mention it and also because I was melancholy about the entire ordeal. A few days time hadn't made me feel any better about being married to the demon, in fact, I was feeling decidedly worse about the whole thing. He'd insulted me after groping me and then decided not to show his face for days afterward? He either didn't care or he was a coward, and both were deal breakers to me. I'd have been out the door except for the woman currently walking down the sidewalk with me.<p>

It was a Wednesday afternoon, the sun was hiding behind the clouds and Kagome had asked me to go shopping with her. Apparently there was an event that Inuyasha had invited her to and she needed a gown and shoes. He'd given her one of his credit cards and told her to go pick whichever outfit she preferred and to buy whatever else she might want while she was out.

Needless to say, Kagome was thrilled and would have swooned on the spot had my eye rolling not mentally held her up. I was beginning to think Kagome was falling into this entire arrangement far too willingly, but then another part of me knew that fighting it was useless, so why was I so angry that she let Inuyasha pamper her? I should have been happy for her, and I was, for the most part. However, a more selfish part of me was jealous of how close Inuyasha and Kagome had become in such a short time. They'd spent a lot of hours together over the last few days, leaving me mostly alone to my thoughts and pining over a demonic asshole who was obviously avoiding me.

Or I was avoiding him. I couldn't be sure anymore.

"So are we actually going to go dress shopping at any point in time or are you just going to spend all of Inuyasha's fortune on shoes?" I joked with her, struggling with the four giant bags wrapped around my hands. I was happy the bags weren't that heavy, although they were awkward to carry around.

We'd been walking around so many expensive shops the last few hours I was glad I'd worn a pair of flats with a snug pair of black jeans and a cardigan hidden under the black peacoat jacket I had on to keep out the frigid cold. Kagome was dressed in a sundress and a leather jacket paired with heels that were doing her no favors as we trekked along the cobblestone sidewalks. Hell, I thought the only thing that was holding her up was the credit card tucked safely away in her purse. She was obviously enjoying the money being thrown her way, but to me that would have felt like a cop out. Almost as if Inuyasha were trying to buy her affections, but what did I know?

"Oh, look there's a shop right there!" Kagome grabbed my elbow with her free hand and ushered us both inside, smiling happily to the salesclerk that was sorting a few outfits.

Not bothering with formalities, Kagome reached over and grabbed a deep red strapless dress. It was floor length and the bodice was covered in an assortment of silver and red crystals, the skirt giving the dress an airy and relaxed look.

Without another word, Kagome dropped her shopping bags at my feet and made her way to a dressing room, throwing back the curtain to hide herself as she changed. I cast an awkward glance to the clerk who looked at me in startled silence.

I didn't think she was used to people handling their own clothing.

A few minutes later Kagome came out from the dressing room, twirling to show off the long skirt as it billowed out happily before her.

"Oh, Kagome! You look wonderful!" I exclaimed, nearly dropping the bags in my possession in shock. My cousin looked like a goddess in charge of fire and passion. I never realized red suited her until just that moment.

"Do you think Inuyasha will like it?" She asked shyly.

"I don't think he'll be able to keep his eyes off of you. You're truly breathtaking." Kagome squealed happily before disappearing back into the dressing room, the clerk clearly nonexistent in her eyes. I turned to the woman, smiling apologetically. "Do you have a clutch and matching shoes to go with that? I really don't want to go to another store."

The woman smiled and led me to another section of the boutique.

* * *

><p>We dropped all of Kagome's many possessions back with the chauffeur who'd been waiting on us all afternoon before telling him we'd be staying in town a few hours more if he wanted to find something else to do until later. With a wave, Shippo had driven happily off, no doubt going to find any activity that didn't involve sitting on his ass.<p>

Kagome had called Inuyasha a bit earlier, asking if he minded if we grabbed dinner and went to a club in the city for the evening and he'd insisted we stop at a certain restaurant and enjoyed whatever food we wanted, the expense was on him. So Kagome and I grabbed dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in town, although I felt extremely uncomfortable doing so, even if my future brother in law had insisted.

I squirmed in my chair, for some reason feeling like a bug under a microscope, unsure of where the sensation was originating. After we'd ordered our food, I looked at my phone and realized that it was nearly 10 o'clock at night; we'd been shopping for nearly eleven hours!

"Do you realize that we've been shop-" I looked up from my plate of food and spotted Lord Sesshomaru sitting at a table across the room. There was a woman seated right next to him, her chair scooted as close to him as she could get, her hand placed on his shoulder as she whispered something into his ear. I could tell she was some sort of demon and from her body language she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Sesshomaru himself looked as stiff as ever, but then again, wasn't that how he always looked?

"What are you looking at?" Kagome swiveled in her seat, spine stiffening when she locked on the same couple I'd seen myself. My cheeks turned red from embarrassment or shame, maybe a bit of both when Kagome turned back to me, eyes full of sadness. "Oh, Rin."

I felt a sudden prickling of tears and cleared my throat even as I looked away from her face, staring intently at my side of the table. I grabbed my untouched glass of wine, tipping it back and letting the contents flow freely down my throat, not pausing until my glass was empty.

I knew he didn't really like me, but seeing him with another woman was almost like a physical blow. My chest ached fiercely, my eyes were watery and I don't think my heart was pumping right. Maybe it had stopped beating the moment I'd spotted them and couldn't find it's rhythm again. Figures the man would give me heart palpitations.

A waiter came over and refilled my drink, much to my delight. I needed something to occupy my mind other than the woman with her grubby hands all over Sesshomaru.

I downed my beverage and looked back at the couple, eyes narrowing in anger when Sesshomaru's gaze caught mine and held it. The woman turned her head and caught my eye, smiling wickedly before turning back to nuzzle her head on Sesshomaru's arm. I felt a flicker die in my eyes, watching the scene before me.

I scoffed when he practically pushed the woman off of him, shoving her back into her own seat before speaking rather harshly. Not that I cared what was said, but she looked positively frightened. Perhaps he was angry she'd drawn more attention to them and their little tryst. I couldn't have cared less.

Not even a little.

"Kagome, I think I'd like to find that club now." I stood abruptly, grabbing her glass of wine and finishing it for her. When she looked at me I merely stated, "I think I need this more than you do."

"Rin." Lord Sesshomaru's voice sounded from right behind me, followed by an angry gasp in Kagome's direction. I didn't turn around to see either of them, instead I made my way to the front of the restaurant, collecting my things from the attendant before slipping on my coat, my purse tucked under my shoulder.

I stepped outside, the chill of the air being combatted by the buzz I was now sporting. I moved past the valet and onto the sidewalk, doing my best not to sway as I stalked angrily from the restaurant.

"Stop." He called, his voice full of demand. A few steps more and I turned abruptly, hair flying around my shoulders like an angry halo.

"What?" I snapped at him, trying no to soak in his appearance in another immaculate suit or the fact that he was over a foot taller than me. "What could you possibly have to say to me after I just caught you and your little bimbo out on the town?"

"This Sesshomaru has no need to discuss such things with you." I rolled my eyes, ignoring the sting that was threatening to overflow. From the slight stiffening of his shoulders it was more than obvious he'd detected my tears. Great, now we could both share in my misery.

"Then why are you standing here? God, I don't even know why I bothered thinking you could possibly be worth anything to me." Before I could turn, Lord Sesshomaru spoke.

"Kagura was a client, nothing more." His tone held nothing but the same dry monotone, but I paused in my retreat. Why did he even tell me that if he'd already said he didn't want to discuss it with me?

"She looked like more than a client to me." I folded my arms in front of my chest, assuming a no nonsense stance.

"She's been offering to share my bed for quite some time, but I have always declined." He didn't seem to be bragging, but it irritated me nonetheless.

"From what I could see, it looks like she's already been there."

"She has not."

"Right."

I turned to resume my walking, only to stop when a flash of white caught my eye and then Sesshomaru was standing right in front of me, blocking my path.

"You do not believe this Sesshomaru." I rolled my eyes. Why was he referring to himself like that?

"You're damn right I don't. Are you honestly telling me that if you saw me out late in the evening with a handsome stranger hanging all over me you would be completely fie with it? Especially if it appeared we were sleeping together?" His eyes flashed a deep red, causing my breath to catch. I blinked and it was gone.

How much had I had to drink?

"That is irrelevant." His tone held just the slightest tint of something else. Something emotional. Could it have been anger? Probably not. I shook my head to clear the thought away and maybe to help stop the slow flow of intoxication from spreading to the rest of my body. Chugging three glasses of wine in less than a minute probably wasn't the wisest decision.

"In what way is that irrelevant?"

"Kagura is no longer a client of Taisho Inc or any of our companies after her actions this evening."

"What?" I was confused. Surely he didn't mean what I thought he did.

"Her brother and her have been causing irritations for my family and I for awhile, but her actions tonight were the deciding factor. I informed her our meeting was strictly business but she failed to accept that for the last time. She has been dealt with."

"Do you have anything you'd like to say to me?" I asked wistfully, well aware the demon in front of me wouldn't apologize for anything, no matter how bad he'd messed up.

"You wish me to beg your forgiveness?" He practically spit out, his normally expressionless face contorted in a rare moment of anger.

"I want you to acknowledge that you've hurt me! I've been waited for you to get over our run in the first night, yet you've spent your days completely ignoring me. Then I see you with a woman practically wrapped around your body like a damn anaconda, so yes. I think you should apologize. I would never do something like that to you and I wouldn't ever hurt you like that."

Sesshomaru stepped slowly until we were standing right in front of each other. He bent until our faces were only a few inches away, obviously a ploy to intimidate me. I stepped on my toes, bringing my face inevitably closer to his own.

"You dare raise your voice to one such as I?" The words whispered over me, almost like a caress although it carried a lethal amount of steel. I looked into his eyes, trying not to lose myself in the endless golden pools.

"You bet." Before I could think clearly, I leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, startled beyond belief when he didn't shove me away in disgust.

Instead Lord Sesshomaru stepped closer until our bodies were pressed together, his arms wrapping around my waist to tug me to him. Meanwhile, a shiver of delight spread down my spine as my lips tingled in ecstasy from being pressed against his.

Abruptly he pulled away, withdrawing his body from mine as if he'd been burned, causing a whole new type of hurt to spread through me.

"Are you going to pretend that never happened too?" He stared at me, his face unreadable even though his silence wasn't.

"Rin, there you are!" Kagome shouted, rushing up to stand beside me. She paused a second to glare at Sesshomaru before she turned back to me. "Come on, let's get out of here."

I turned and followed her, leaving Lord Sesshomaru standing alone, more than aware that he never answered my last question.

* * *

><p>"Forget that jerk anyway," Kagome shouted over the music, handing me yet another shot of something not so delicious. It burned my throat going down, but not nearly as bad as the previous shots.<p>

"I can't forget him, I'm going to marry him. Do you think he'll let me kiss him then?" I wondered aloud, moving my fingers to cover my mouth, but it felt oddly numb. That was weird.

"It looked like he was letting you kiss him plenty back at the restaurant."

"You saw that?" I squeaked out. Or maybe I yelled it at her. Who could tell over the music blaring in the background?

"I think half of the street saw it. You didn't notice all the people that stopped to take a photo of you two together?" I rolled my eyes at her obvious joke, not in the mood for her and her stories.

Kagome jerked upright from the bar before giggling to herself. I stared at her the entire time, which proved to be fascinating because one moment she had a drink in her hand and the next she was talking into a cellphone, giggling like a schoolgirl to whoever was on the other line. Probably the love of her life.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea. Yeah, no, she's super drunk. Me? Um. Not as drunk as she is." Kagome laughed loudly. "Okay, yes. That's the club we're at. Okay, I'll see you soon." An instant later the phone was mysteriously gone as if it had never been. "Inuyasha is coming to kiss us," I widened my eyes, "I mean get us! Get us!"

I smacked Kagome on the back, taking another shot that appeared in front of me. "Well I think I know what someone is going to be doing after this. No wonder Inuyasha is in such a rush to come and get you."

Kagome stared at me before pulling out her phone and showing me the time. "Rin, we've been out drinking for four hours. It's time to go home and face the demons in our lives." I rolled my eyes, sinking wearily into the empty chair behind me.

"I think I'm a little tired," I said flippantly, waving a hand in the air for emphasis.

"Hey! Watch where you're flinging that thing." Inuyasha piped up from next to Kagome, a set of car keys in his hand.

"Wow, you got here really fast!"

He cast a look at Kagome before turning back to me. "How much have you had to drink, Rin?"

"I don't know, just whatever Gome gave me." I smiled sleepily at her, even when she cast a chagrinned look at Inuyasha.

"What?" She said innocently. "I blame your brother for how drunk she is."

"Yeah." I agreed although I couldn't remember what she had said.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before opening his mouth to speak. "Well that's a shame because Sesshomaru followed me here. He's in the car with the chauffeur to take Rin back to the manor."

Kagome's eyes widened when she looked behind me. "No he's not."

I groaned aloud, not caring if Lord Sesshomaru heard me. "Well this is just great. I thought I was drinking to forget my problems, not to have them escort me home like I'm a child."

"If you insist on acting like a child you will be treated as such." The steel voice from behind me declared.

Kagome's mouth dropped open in shock but I just laughed. I tilted my head back to stare at the tall demon behind me and for a moment the world slid out from under me, or maybe it was the bar stool I'd been sitting on.

Strong arms caught me in a tight grip, Sesshomaru's hands under my knees and over my back, holding me tightly to him.

"You practically reek of alcohol," he said clearly above the background noise of the club.

I smiled and placed my hand on his cheek, causing his eyes to drop to mine as he walked purposefully away from the bar. "I missed you too, darling."

"Hn." We exited the club, Sesshomaru's stride never wavering as we made our way to the vehicle, Shippo holding our door open for us. Lord Sesshomaru bent at the waist, bending us both into the car until he was situated in his seat, still holding me in his lap. Not one to waste a good cuddle, I leaned in to him, letting my head rest in the crook of his neck, feeling more sober than I had in hours. "Nonsense like this will no longer be tolerated."

"Well if you keep treating me like your dirty little secret I'll keep acting like it." I nuzzled his neck with my cold nose, letting my lips rest along the collar of his suit, breathing him in.

"What are you doing?" His arms tightened around me slightly.

"Smelling you." I inhaled again. "Isn't that what dog demons do? You smell nice. Like the forest or something."

"Hn."

"You know," I piped up after a few minutes of silence. "Kagome and Inuyasha actually like each other." More silence. "They're even planning on going on a date."

"I would not call that farce of a ball an adequate date, if it were to be called a date at all."

"No need to get testy, darling, I'm just pointing out that they're getting along."

"Why are you calling me 'darling'?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't care," he hurried. Well, hurried for Sesshomaru. "I'm merely curious."

"I figured a term of endearment or two might warm you up to the thought of maybe kissing me again before I die of old age." I looked up at him, seeing a small hint of laughter in his eyes. "How's it working?"

"It might work more if you didn't smell of cheap tequila." I leaned back and gasped in mock horror, lightly slapping his shoulder.

"How dare you, sir. Jose Cuervo is one of the most refined tastes one can have."

"Perhaps for those unschooled in the ways of fine alcohols."

"Ouch," I said as I leaned back into him. "How many more hits am I going to take this evening?" I meant it as a joke but the words caught in my throat as tears threatened to spill over and down my cheeks. What was wrong with me?

"Rin," Sesshomaru said my name as he tightened his arms around me, letting his chin rest on the crown of my head. I buried my face into his chest, trying desperately to keep any tears from falling. "This Sesshomaru will not be taking any women to bed while you are mine."

I inhaled his scent deep into my lungs before my body relaxed and I drifted off into a comfortable limbo like state, cradled in his arms. I didn't say anything to him, but I didn't need to. What he'd given me was enough.

* * *

><p>Please leave me some reviews if you have the time :)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, I can't believe how many reviews the last chapter received! It was such a rush to know that this story has gotten so much positive feedback!**

**Thanks to Lady Shenzuki, M.E.E., What's In A Name, L.M.T.O.P., Ama Zon, meghanmoo, Karrat, Marikyuu, sesshyrin4life, Janestone, Inu Daughter17, Nikki0319, Kibachow, jj, vidanime and to the other anonymous guests that left me reviews!**

**And now I'll try to address a few questions from the reviews (so if you don't care about that then please feel free to jump to the start of this chapter :) )**

**Kibachow- There MAY BE SOME HISTORY that is revealed at the end of this chapter :P (btw I feel like every time you've asked a question about this story it's like you're reading my mind lol. But then again, great minds think alike, right?!)**

**Vidanime- I thought about making it into a 'Rin drunkenly flirts with men to make Sesshy jealous', but I want Rin to be a stronger and compassionate character than that, plus I didn't want that type of scene to cheapen the storyline for our main characters**

**Marikyuu- There is a method to my writing madness, I promise. Generally if it feels sped along its because I get tired of the current scene I'm on and feel like there is nothing left to give, so I'll just cut to the next scene. Although I do try to write a somewhat lengthy chapter when I update, it's easier for me to update sooner as opposed to later because in my experience on this site, the longer I take to write, the less interested people become in the stories and it's somewhat discouraging to me as a writer when I update on here and I don't get any love for my stories lol**

**Meghanmoo- Your questions are answered in this chapter, so I hope that helps you out!**

**What's In A Name- There will not be a Kikyo in my story, mostly because since they're identical I don't want to cause a whole new can of worms with Inuyasha and Kagome since they aren't the main characters of this story**

* * *

><p>Oh gods. Oh sweet merciful deity of hangovers. I flopped over onto my back, the soft bed cushions me as I collided back into the mattress less than gracefully.<p>

My hair was scattered over my face, blocking most of the sunlight pouring through one of the wall length windows, but what little light poured through was enough to have me grimacing in pain as I grabbed a pillow and placed it over my face, thankful that it blocked out any and all light that spilled into my bedroom.

What time was it? I dropped my right arm from the pillow, sending my hand on a mission to locate the nightstand and find my cellphone without moving the rest of my body. It hurt to move anything else. A few minutes of awkward searching eventually led to my nightstand, but apparently I'd been too drunk the night before to remember to charge my cellphone.

I groaned again, thinking about what I'd not been too drunk to do.

Why couldn't I just let that memory float away like all of my other drunken shenanigans?

WHY DID I HAVE TO REMEMBER?

* * *

><p><em>"You know you're pretty to look at," I murmured to Lord Sesshomaru as he helped me up the first grand staircase on the way to my bedroom. My head was both full and empty, the large amount of alcohol I'd consumed making everything blurry, yet some things in deep focus. Okay, only Sesshomaru was crystal clear, everything else was muffled by alcohol, even my movements. Everything felt sluggish.<em>

_"Hn." I let him grip my waist and hold me up, even though I could definitely make it up the stairs myself. You know, definitely. In maybe fifteen or so minutes. With plenty of stumbling._

_"Yeah, I bet any kids you have will be just as gorgeous as you." Lord Sesshomaru stiffened and I cast a startled glance his way. "Oh my gods, you've got kids don't you? Of course you do, you're like a million years old. It would be weird if you didn't have kids."_

_"This Sesshomaru does not have any pups."_

_I giggled. "You call them pups? That's pretty cute." He sent an icy glare in my direction. "I mean tough. It's very manly and not in any way adorable to refer to children as puppies." _

_I tripped up a step, stumbling into Lord Sesshomaru. When did that step get there? I could have sworn it was a few feet lower. Or inches. Did I mean feet or inches? Oh who cared. I was pressed into him and it felt amazing!_

_"Enough of this nonsense." An instant later I was cradled in his arms as he flashed us to my bedroom, sitting me comfortably onto my bed. Only I didn't feel comfortable. I felt weird. Too weird. Like my stomach was hot and cold all at the same time._

_"Oh wow." I breathed in, the unsettling sensation of my body shifting finally catching up to me. I stood up abruptly and ran into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before I threw up not once, but three times. I flushed the toilet and immediately grabbed mouth wash, using too much in the hopes that it would clear out the taste that lingered in my mouth. It was foul. Lord Sesshomaru was right, I did reek of alcohol._

_Too drunk to realize that Sesshomaru was still in my bedroom even though I couldn't see him, I stripped out of my clothing, throwing garments this way and that before stepping into the shower, turning it on to clean off the smell of vomit._

_The hot water made me tired and abruptly I sat, or fell down, into the stall, laying my back and head along the wall to ensure I didn't drown in a shower. __Wouldn't that be a stupid way to die? Drunk and passed out face down in a shower? Bleh._

_I shut my eyes for an instant, or probably not. _

_"Rin. What are you doing." A question made as a statement had my eyes shooting open. When had Sesshomaru come in and why was he standing in the doorway, effectively turning off the shower and staring at me._

_I was naked._

_I should have stood up and freaked out, demanded he hand me a towel and remove himself from the room, but I didn't. We just stared at each other, which was probably extremely awkward to him, but it didn't feel like that to me. To be fair I was pretty sure I was wasted._

_"I'm tired, Sesshomaru." I blinked once and was surprised to find myself back on my bed, the sheets tucked tightly against me. The demon stood next to the bed, his clawed hands clenched tightly by his side as he stared at me. "Are you alright?"_

_"Go to sleep, Rin."_

* * *

><p>Just the thought of the night before had me nearly wailing in down right embarrassment. I vomited and got naked in front of Lord Sesshomaru.<p>

_I vomited and got naked in front of Lord Sesshomaru._

**I VOMITED AND GOT NAKED IN FRONT OF LORD SESSHOMARU.**

Grabbing the blankets I pulled them over my pillow covered head, hoping the bed would swallow me whole. Why did I have to drink? Better yet, what part of me thought being naked while he was in my bedroom was a good idea?

The horrors!

A soft knock came from my bedroom door before it was pushed open.

"Rin," I heard Kagome whisper, the noise assaulting my ears.

"For the love of all things holy, Kagome. Please don't talk unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Rin, this is definitely necessary." Her no nonsense tone had me pushing the covers back until my face was exposed. I brushed a bit of the hair out of my face to get a better view of her somber face.

"What's the matter?"

She sat on the side of the bed, pulling out a magazine from behind her back, handing it to me gently, almost as if it were a snake that would bite me if I touched it wrong. I took the rag mag from her, my whole body tensing when I took enough time to realize what was on the cover of the magazine.

"Is that..." Kagome nodded her head, eyes barely meeting mine before they skittered away. I gulped, my eyes as wide as saucers before I burst into tears, tossing the magazine away from me as if it were made of acid. On the cover of the magazine there was a photo of Sesshomaru and I lip locked in a 'steamy embrace' (quoted from the magazine). But that wasn't even the worst part. The headline was, 'Demon Lord Sesshomaru Finds New Monthly Squeeze?' and on the next line in tiny letters read, 'Future Lord of the Western Lands Lowers Standards to Be Seduced By Human Whore'.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems, Rin. Besides, how many people even read this stupid demon tabloid anyway?" Kagome laid a hand on my shoulder through the covers, her presence helping to soothe the ache forming in my heart.

"Where do they get off calling me a whore? I'm his damn fiancé, not that they would have cared anyway." Great, how pissed would Sesshomaru be when he found out about that? "Oh God," I whispered as the thought of him reading through that magazine flashed through my mind. Surely he wouldn't read something as despicable as that, right? No, definitely not. Not only did that magazine insult Sesshomaru, it insulted me and after my stupid antics last night I didn't need any more of my embarrassments to be found out by Sesshomaru. And being called a 'human whore' was definitely an embarrassment, no matter how untrue the 'whore' part was.

Ugh. Vultures!

"Kagome, do you think we could go grab some breakfast in a few minutes? I should probably eat something. And drink water. Lots and lots of water." I spoke up from inside my safe haven of covers, hoping she would hear me just fine.

A slight laugh. "Rin, it's already three o'clock in the afternoon. You've been asleep for hours. So we could always grab a late lunch if you wanted."

"Sounds good," and with that Kagome stood up and exited the room, leaving me alone. Naked and vulnerable, both physically and emotionally.

* * *

><p>"Can you believe tomorrow night is the ball?" Kagome sighed happily, her eyes practically shining like stars as she discussed her upcoming event with Inuyasha. As much as I was excited for her, I was starting to feel sorry for myself. I was in my own little half ass pity party bubble and as much as I tried, I couldn't pop the damn thing.<p>

I poked the food on my plate with the fork in my hand, shifting the meal around on my plate. As hungry as I'd been when we left, I'd been equally as put off when it seemed like that stupid magazine was following me around wherever I went as soon as we'd left the manor.

No joke, there was a couple sitting in the booth next to us, the demon woman flipping through the magazine of shame as if the pages could divulge all of humanity's secrets. If that wasn't bad enough, the demon woman looked up just in time to make awkward eye contact with me, her mouth forming a silent 'o' of understanding as our gazes locked. An instant later she had the magazine cover gripped tightly in both hands before she looked at it and then back to me, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. To be fair, I couldn't believe this was happening either.

Someone recognized me! My misery was complete.

I looked away from their booth, staring intently at the food in front of me. We'd gone to a local Chinese restaurant at my insistence, but now all I could do was push around the chicken and rice on my plate.

I looked back up at Kagome, who smiled sadly at me before she grabbed my hand and squeeze it from across the table. "Let's get out of here, hun."

I smiled and nodded my head, standing up eagerly in anticipation of leaving this place and that dreaded magazine behind.

The demon women at the booth next to us picked up her and drink and smiled at me. "This is for seducing the great Lord Sesshomaru, you stupid human bitch." And then the drink exploded towards me, covering me head to toe in water. I gasped as the cold liquid hit my clothing and skin, seeping through the cashmere sweater I'd put on to protect against the cold weather outside.

"You stupid bitch!" Kagome shouted, lunging for the demon in a rare moment of fury. Before she could reach the demon, I grabbed her arm, effectively yanking her back and to my side.

"It's fine, Kagome. Let's just go." My teeth started chattering together as I spoke, making me nearly as angry as Kagome. But unfortunately, I felt more sad than I did angry. Were people really so naive?

The demon woman smirked and I turned around, gently tugging Kagome with me as we left the restaurant. My shoulders were slumped and I made sure to stare at the ground as we left in the hopes of not catching another person's gaze.

"Oh, Rin." Kagome wrapped a hand around my waist, holding me close as we walked. I kept my gaze away from her, knowing that if I looked at her right that moment I would burst into tears.

We walked across the street to the car park, finding the car and Shippo within a minute of searching.

Shippo stared at us wide eyed, his mouth hanging open at the state I was apparently in. I probably looked like a drowned rat. "Is everything alright, Ms. Rin?" I smiled slightly at him as I passed, entering the car and scooting over to give Kagome plenty of room to hop in next to me.

Shippo turned and peeked in through the back door, almost as if he were going to mention something, but he stopped and shut the door slowly, giving Kagome and I the privacy I so desperately needed. Not wasting any time, I put up the privacy screen before slumping back into my seat, closing my eyes and humming a soothing song to keep my mind off of the last half hour.

* * *

><p>We made it back to the manor without incident, which was more than fine with me. To be honest, I was half afraid someone would run us off the road because the whore of Sesshomaru was sitting in the back seat, but luckily for us all nothing traumatic occurred. It was like the car was a safe haven, protecting me from any and all trouble. It was nice while it lasted, but as we pulled down the long drive and up to the manor, the blood rushed to my ears and my face flushed with dread.<p>

Lord Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were standing with their father, Lord Inu, on the front steps leading into the manor, obviously awaiting our arrival.

"Oh crap," Kagome explained, clearly understanding my distress. Not only had I been humiliated at a local restaurant, I was about to be humiliate yet again when I had to explain things to all three of the new men in my life.

I ran a shaking hand through my now damp hair, grimacing when I realized how awful I must actually look. "Be honest, Kagome. How bad is it?" I asked, worried about her answer. She turned to me and in a flash she had my hair in her hand, braiding it quickly and efficiently into a long side braid before she used a hair band on her wrist to tie it off on the end, letting it settle all the way to my waist. She then licked her thumb and rubbed it under each of my eyes, pulling off any eye shadow that might have smudged during my water assault. At that moment I was definitely grateful that the only type of make up I generally wore out was eyeshadow and mascara. I wasn't sure what else could have been salvaged if I'd applied a full face worth of make up.

Last but not least, Kagome took off her coat and handed it to me. I threw it on, grateful for it's length and buttoned it up, covering up my drenched shirt. "I don't think they're going to be able to tell you got water thrown on you, now. Although they might wonder why your hair is wet, but we can just explain that away or something. No big deal." I nodded, looking back at the trio of demons waiting for us as the car pulled to a stop, silently wondering why they were all gathered outside.

"I thought Lord Inu wasn't supposed to be back for a few more days?"

Kagome shrugged. "Who knows? He went to meet his wife in Paris for some sort of romantic getaway, but maybe they both came back a few days early?"

"Oh that's right. I forgot she would be coming back with him. I hear she's a pretty nice lady, although I don't have any idea how she's still alive. Inuyasha is right about two hundred years old, so shouldn't she be dead?"

Kagome shook her head, watching Shippo speak quickly and quietly to the men in front of him. I hadn't even noticed he'd left the vehicle. As he spoke Lord Inu grimaced and looked distraught while Lord Sesshomaru's shoulders tightened even more than usual and his eyes were practically sparking with barely concealed venom. What were they so angry about? "No," Kagome responded. "Inuyasha told me that when a dog demon, or maybe it works for any demon, anyways, when a dog demon finds their true mate they can bind their life forces together, thus allowing the mates to age at the same rate, even if one of them is human. So she probably still looks how she did when she met Lord Inu. I nodded. It made sense. Well, as much sense as all that could actually make.

"I think we're going to have to let ourselves out of the car this time," I joked to Kagome, nudging her with my shoulder to turn the handle and let us out of the vehicle.

"Oh, right." She said before she exited the car. I grabbed my own door and let myself out, mentally thanking Kagome for helping me conceal the incident from earlier. I turned and walked toward the group, a smile plastered on my face at all the men before me.

"Are you certain?" Lord Inu looked me up and down as he asked Shippo his question.

"Yes, my Lord." I cast a confused glance at Kagome. Surely Shippo didn't out me to the demons?

"Rin." Sesshomaru stared at me, giving nothing away, not that he ever did. "Remove your coat." Instinctively I clutched the coat tighter to my body.

"Why?" The word came out as a stutter, making me more irritated than ever. Not only was I a 'human whore' I had also just developed a stutter. Fantastic.

"You know why." I cast one glance at Kagome who was standing arm in arm with Inuyasha before I sighed. Unbuttoning the jacket slowly, I slowly removed the item from my body, my face flushing when Lord Inu cursed angrily under his breath.

"This is much worse than I feared it would be." Lord Inu spoke to Sesshomaru. "You must debut your engagement much sooner than I anticipated, both of you."

"That's fine. I was going to introduce Kagome as my fiancé at the ball tomorrow night if that is acceptable." Inuyasha wrapped a hand around Kagome's waist protectively.

"Wonderful," Lord Inu said before turning to Sesshomaru, almost as if he were anticipating a battle. I was anticipating it as well. Sesshomaru merely nodded his head in agreement before casting a side glance in my direction.

"You will attend the ball with me tomorrow evening."

"You mean that 'farce' of a date?" I joked, remembering our previous conversation and hoping to lighten the mood slightly. I noticed his eyes seemed to soften for a moment before they hardened again, almost as if they'd never been anything but orbs of solid gold.

* * *

><p>Later that evening and freshly showered and changed into clean, dry clothing, I made my way downstairs and to my new favorite room, the ballroom that held the treasure that was my piano. I'd yet to see anyone playing it since Kagome and I had moved in, so therefore I had claimed the instrument as my own.<p>

I slipped onto the bench, tuning the keys expertly before loosening up my fingers in preparation of playing a song or two. Generally whenever I played and it wasn't for a concert, it was a song that pertained to whatever situation I was going through, and the song on my mind was no different. It took a few tries on the piano to find the right key to start with since I didn't have any sheet music for 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', but once I hit the right first note, it was as if my fingertips had the rest of the notes programmed into them.

**When you're weary, feeling small,**  
><strong>When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;<strong>  
><strong>I'm on your side. When times get rough<strong>  
><strong>And friends just can't be found,<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will lay me down.<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will lay me down.<strong>

**When you're down and out,**  
><strong>When you're on the street,<strong>  
><strong>When evening falls so hard<strong>  
><strong>I will comfort you.<strong>  
><strong>I'll take your part.<strong>  
><strong>When darkness comes<strong>  
><strong>And pain is all around,<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will lay me down.<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will lay me down.<strong>

**Sail on silvergirl,**  
><strong>Sail on by.<strong>  
><strong>Your time has come to shine.<strong>  
><strong>All your dreams are on their way.<strong>  
><strong>See how they shine.<strong>  
><strong>If you need a friend<strong>  
><strong>I'm sailing right behind.<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will ease your mind.<strong>  
><strong>Like a bridge over troubled water<strong>  
><strong>I will ease your mind.<strong>

I let my hands drop from the piano and quickly wiped a stray tear that had fallen as I'd sang, all of the emotions I'd kept bottled up all day crashing together as I'd played. My shoulders slumped when I looked up at a slight noise, expecting to see Sesshomaru and instead finding his father standing before me. I don't know why I felt such acute disappointment, but I'd honestly been hoping Lord Sesshomaru would have been the demon in front of me, even if I did really enjoy his father's company.

Lord Inu came over to the piano, sitting companionably next to me on the bench.

"I had a feeling this piano would be a great idea. You play quite beautifully, Rin."

I smiled slightly and looked back at the piano, changing the subject away from the compliment I'd just been given. I never reacted properly to compliments of any sort. "I never see anyone else play it. How long have you had this? It's such a lovely piano." And expensive.

Lord Inu turned slightly so our bodies mostly faced one another before he gave me a dubious look. "This piano arrived a day before you and Kagome came to stay with us." My brow furrowed in confusion at his tone. He smiled warmly before continuing. "I didn't buy this piano. It was a gift from Sesshomaru. To you." My mouth dropped open.

"Come again?"

"You didn't know? No of course not, I doubt my son would find it pertinent information to give. You know, dear, I was with Sesshomaru the first time he ever heard you play. It was last year at a concert and you had a solo. Forgive me, I don't remember the song you'd played, but I hadn't ever seen my son captivated by anything up until he heard your music. At first I didn't think much of it, but a few months later we attended another concert of Sesshomaru's choosing and I found it quite interesting to see that you were playing yet again. I don't think I would have recognized you had I not noticed how rapt with attention Sesshomaru became as soon as you began to play. It intrigued me greatly, I admit. After another concert and then another I came to the conclusion that my son wasn't just captivated with your music, I believed him to be captivated by you as well, maybe even more so than your music."

"Oh," was all I could think to say. I think Sesshomaru had mentioned hearing me play before, but I hadn't even begun to grasp the idea that he might have listened to me play on several occasions at several different venues. I hadn't played in a few months since I'd graduated college since my time with the music department had ended. To be honest, the college hadn't put on the concerts, it was actual theaters that hired performers during certain events, so I could have still kept playing even after I'd graduated, but I had decided to focus on my actual major in accounting since that was what would provide my income. Playing music was great, but when I was only hired out as an individual performer a few times a month it didn't really help pay the bills. Not that I really had that to worry about anymore.

"If I'm being frank with you, Rin, you are the reason I sought out a deal with your aunt." My mouth dropped open in shock. Lord Inu laughed lowly, the sound husky and pleasant before he continued. "Although my son has been bewitched by you, he would have never sought out any type of relationship on the basis of your humanity. He likes to view humans as specimen under a microscope as opposed to actual individuals. So I took matters into my own hands. His lack of objections to this union has led me to believe that he is actually anticipating the idea of you in his life."

"He's barely even spent any time with me since I moved here. I'm sorry, but I don't think Sesshomaru is as fond of me as you would like to believe." The words hurt to say, but I thought we both needed to hear them.

"My dear, I've known that whelp for over four hundred years. Had he really not wanted a marriage with you, you would not be in this manor playing an instrument provided to you by your future husband. I don't want you to feel discouraged, which is why I've divulged this information to you. Be patient with him, woo him to your side for all eternity." I raised an eyebrow at that statement. Eternity? He did know I was going to die eventually, right? "Trust me, dear Rin. When I first met my Izayoi I was just as harsh towards humans as Sesshomaru. Uncaring about them or their struggles, but there was something that captivated me from the moment I laid my eyes upon her. I knew she was mine. It was the same look I saw on my son the first time he saw you. As I said, be patient." With that, the dog demon disappeared in a flash of white, leaving me sitting alone on the piano bench, unsure of what all I had just heard.

* * *

><p><strong>BUM BUM BUM<strong>

**That lost part revealed a significant amount of info, right?! So now we know that although Sesshomaru is reluctant about being involved with our dear Rin, he is drawn to her in a way he can't explain and it's intriguing to him (Just a side note, Sesshy doesn't know that Rin is his true mate, he's currently struggling with himself because he is drawn to her and he can't figure out why).**

**Please leave some reviews for me! **

**-Mo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay guys, it's the next day and I've already got another update for you! It's a bit longer this time (by about a 1,000 words) so I hope you enjoy it!**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! I can't believe how many I've been getting every time I update a chapter, but it makes me extremely happy! If we keep this up then I'll actually have one of my RinxSesshy stories that reaches over 100 reviews before the story ends and this is exciting!**

**Please enjoy this next chapter and feel free to leave me a review/fav/follow the story! I don't think you'll be disappointed.**

* * *

><p>I sat alone on that piano bench for at least half an hour, more confused than I'd ever felt in my entire life.<p>

What had just happened?

I mean, I _knew _what had just happened, I'd been present when Lord Inu had saw fit to divulge such secret information about his son to me. Well, he shared what he _thought _were secrets, but they couldn't have been right. Surely Lord Sesshomaru hadn't sought me out this past year just to hear me play? Obviously if they were attending some business function and I just happened to be there it wasn't considered 'seeking' anyone out. But then again, Lord Inu had admitted that it was Lord Sesshomaru who chose each of the venues after the first time they'd heard me play. If that was even true.

Sure, the first time I'd sat at this piano bench and played for Kagome, Lord Sesshomaru had appeared practically out of thin air. And the time after that we'd had another encounter of an entirely physical nature after he had shown up out of nowhere. Hadn't he told me that the piano had called to him? Had he meant me as opposed to just the sound of the piano? But in that case, wouldn't he have shown up to listen to me play this last song? Instead it had been his father who had talked with me about my future relationship with his son. Better yet, it was his father who had come to give me hope about whatever type of relationship I would eventually have with Lord Sesshomaru. He was probably just trying to make me feel better about being broadcasted as a whore all over some demon tabloid and the only way he thought to do it was to create some romantic story about his son who had already been bewitched by me before we'd even technically met.

It sounded like something out of a sappy romance novel, not real life which was why I found myself so hesitant to accept that as any possible type of truth. Besides, although there were certain things that might hint at Lord Inu's words being true, I wasn't going to believe them unless I heard them from Lord Sesshomaru himself. If he wanted me to know such things he would tell me and if not then I wouldn't bother myself with them. Even if I found myself wishing that Lord Sesshomaru was as taken with me as I was him. It wasn't something I needed to dwell on. Right?

Ugh, it was all so confusing.

Lord Inu was under the impression that Lord Sesshomaru was captivated by me and my music. It would have made complete sense if he had actually shown up this last time, giving him a perfect attendance record since I had moved into the manor. But he hadn't. He'd left me alone with my thoughts. Maybe he wasn't even at the manor. He was an important demon, he probably had loads of things to do.

I stared down at the piano.

Maybe if I played again... I mean, his father was gone now and there wouldn't be an audience if Sesshomaru decided to hide in the background and listen. Isn't that what he normally did, anyway? Maybe if he was here he would come to me if I played something.

Sighing loudly, I placed my hands on the keys, unsure of what song to play. Something sad, fun, haunting? If I was being honest with myself, I still wanted to play something that pertained to my horrid day out with Kagome. Not only had I been humiliated, but in that moment I'd felt weak and vulnerable and worse yet, I felt like I had disappointed Lord Sesshomaru, although I'd never admit that to anyone. It wasn't my fault someone had leaked photos of us to a magazine, but I was engaged to marry one of the fiercest demons in Japan and when someone had thrown a beverage at me, I'd just walked away with my head hung low as if I deserved it. Where was my fire, my anger? My passion? I was so much better than that demon had made me out to be, yet I'd done nothing. I was better than that, I was stronger than that.

And just like that, I knew what song to play.

**Skies are crying, I am watching**  
><strong>Catching tear drops in my hands<strong>  
><strong>Only silence as it's ending<strong>  
><strong>Like we never had a chance<strong>  
><strong>Do you have to make me feel like<strong>  
><strong>There's nothing left of me?<strong>

**You can take everything I have**  
><strong>You can break everything I am<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of glass<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of paper<strong>  
><strong>Go on and try to tear me down<strong>  
><strong>I will be rising from the ground<strong>  
><strong>Like a skyscraper<strong>  
><strong>Like a skyscraper<strong>

**As the smoke clears, I awaken**  
><strong>And untangle you from me<strong>  
><strong>Would it make you feel better<strong>  
><strong>To watch me while I bleed?<strong>  
><strong>All my windows still are broken<strong>  
><strong>But I'm standing on my feet<strong>

**You can take everything I have**  
><strong>You can break everything I am<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of glass<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of paper<strong>  
><strong>Go on and try to tear me down<strong>  
><strong>I will be rising from the ground<strong>  
><strong>Like a skyscraper<strong>  
><strong>Like a skyscraper<strong>

**Go run, run, run**  
><strong>I'm gonna stay right here,<strong>  
><strong>Watch you disappear<strong>  
><strong>Yeah, oh<strong>  
><strong>Go run, run, run<strong>  
><strong>Yeah, it's a long way down<strong>  
><strong>But I am closer to the clouds up here<strong>

**You can take everything I have**  
><strong>You can break everything I am<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of glass<strong>  
><strong>Like I'm made of paper<strong>  
><strong>Oh Oh<strong>  
><strong>Go on and try to tear me down<strong>  
><strong>I will be rising from the ground<strong>  
><strong>Like a skyscraper<strong>

I sighed for what seemed like the 100th time that day as I finished the song, stretching my fingers to keep the ache out of them. I turned towards the doorway, hoping I'd see a pair of ice gold eyes staring back at me paired with a stoic expression that was guaranteed to make me weak in the knees. Instead of the most beautiful demon leaning against the doorway with his hands tucked comfortably into the pockets of his slacks, the doorway was empty.

I was truly and utterly alone.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gods, it's actually happening! We're going to a ball! I feel like Cinderella!" Kagome held her dress to her body, twirling around the room as if she were already wearing the red gown, her skirt billowing around her legs until she finally stopping spinning around in circles.<p>

"Kagome, you know we still have like four hours until we need to be ready for this thing, right?" I moved out of her way as she feigned a rather complicated version of the waltz, nearly stumbling over a pair of her shoes in my haste to get out of the way. "And if you really wanted to feel like Cinderella you could pick up all these damn shoes!" I griped at her, feeling irritated at her constant peppy mood. She'd been prancing around my bedroom for the last two hours, no matter how hard I had tried to ignore her. I'd even hopped into the shower, taking as much time as I could with grooming myself before I left the bathroom an hour later in the hopes she had given up and gone back to her room across the hall. Instead, she'd been lounging on the cushioned bench in front of my vanity, practicing some sort of pouty face to 'entice Inuyasha' (her exact words).

She hadn't left me alone all day long and it was starting to wear on my nerves.

"So what are you going to wear?"

"I hadn't decided." I answered her truthfully.

Not wasting another moment, Kagome rushed the armoire that currently held an assortment of luxurious dresses I hadn't glanced at since the day we moved in, mostly because I was afraid to touch them. I don't even think I'd taken one out for fear of ripping it or worse.

"Wait!" I shouted at her too late, for she'd already pulled open the doors, gasping in delight at each and every different type of gown. She'd pulled open my secret treasure chest full of goodies and was oohing and aahing at them almost as fiercely as I'd been the first time I'd lain eyes on such fine silk and shininess.

"Oh my gods, Rin. These are wonderful!" At the sight of Kagome rummaging through my precious items I wanted to snatch her hand away and tell her to leave my beautiful gowns alone, but another darker, scarier, feminine part was thrilled my cousin had yanked open the doors to the armoire, thus allowing me to gawk at the gowns with her. I hadn't actually planned on ever wearing one of those gowns that had been so carefully tucked away, but now that there was an occasion to wear one of them I couldn't keep my eyes of the armoire full of goodies. There were such wonders hiding in my bedroom!

My gowns really were beautiful! Especially the one that was deep purple, around the same shade as the markings on Lord Sesshomaru's face. It was both breathtaking and a very daring type of gown for me. In some ways it seemed extremely revealing, even if it was floor length. Looking at the gown as Kagome pulled it slightly out, I had a hard time picturing Lord Sesshomaru selecting such a gown for me. He didn't seem the type to tolerate a woman wearing something so daring while she planned to spend the evening on his arm.

Noticing my fixed attention on the gown, Kagome gently pulled it from the armoire, gasping again when she noticed the back, or lack thereof, of the gown.

"Oh wow. Have you tried it on yet, Rin?" I shook my head, my mouth dry as I stared at the gown full on. It was more beautiful than I remembered when I'd first looked into the armoire. Was it possible that a dress could grow more gorgeous over time?

Kagome pushed the dress at me, ushering me to take it. Gently I removed it from her hands, the soft, smooth fabric sending chills up my arms as the dress brushed against them. "I have to say, Sesshomaru has awesome taste. You've got to wear this tonight!"

"Tonight?" Was she out of her mind? "Are you out of your mind? People think I'm Lord Sesshomaru's whore and you want me to dress in this slinky getup and go to a ball with him while wearing _this_?!"

Kagome looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. "Uh, yeah? I'm sorry, I don't understand the problem."

I sat the dress gently on the bed before sinking next to it. "If people are already calling me a whore, I don't want to wear something so provocative out tonight. What if people throw more drinks at me and in that, no less?" The thought of my beautiful gown in ruins nearly had me breaking something in half in fury. I didn't want to know what I would do if it actually happened.

"If they're already calling you a whore then who gives a damn what they think, Rin? You and I and everyone else in this household knows the truth and do you honestly think anyone is going to do anything to you while you're on Sesshomaru's arm all evening? I think they have to have a death wish to pull a stunt like that or any kind. Besides, this is our big reveal to a bunch of people who apparently care a lot about who The Taisho demons are marrying these days. I don't think anyone is going to think nasty thoughts about the future Lady of the West, do you?" She put a comforting hand on my shoulder, but it only felt like a piece of rock that was weighing me down. I felt like a lot of things were weighing me down lately.

"Oh gods, Kagome. Don't call me that, alright? I'm not the future anyone of anything." I stared down at the dress next to me. What if Sesshomaru saw me in it and made me change? What if he thought it too inappropriate for the function we would be attending later? What if he was completely indifferent to the way I looked? I didn't think I could bear it.

Kagome looked at me before suggestively throwing in, "I think Sesshomaru is going to have a hard time looking at anyone but you in that dress, Rin." I rolled my eyes, even if the compliment made me sit up straighter.

"What if he thinks I don't look good in it?" I asked her quietly, afraid of her answer.

Kagome came over to me, placing a hand gently on my shoulder while her other one grabbed my chin, tilting my head back until I looked up at her.

"I think he cares more about you then you would like to think, Rin. Can I show you something without you getting upset with me?" I nodded my head. Kagome left the room for the first time since she entered it a few hours ago before returning less than a minute later, the dreaded magazine clutched tightly in her hand. Hadn't I thrown that away? Jeez, how many did she have? Kagome handed the magazine to me. "Look at the photo of you two." I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, I want you to tell me what you see when you look at the picture."

Sighing, I looked down and stared at it, not understanding what the hell she wanted me to see. "Well, first off I see me throwing myself at Lord Sesshomaru and being photographed and humiliated for it."

"I'm not talking about you in the photo. Look again."

I looked down and this time stared at Lord Sesshomaru. The photo had been taken a few moments before he'd pushed me away from him, but I'd been a bit buzzed when the kiss had taken place. Which made sense that I didn't remember him wrapping an arm around my waist and holding me to him, which was clearly evident in this photo. My breath caught in my chest the more I stared at it. His eyes were shut just as mine had been, his face tilted into the kiss, looking as if he were enjoying it as much as I had been. One of my hands were placed lovingly on his chest and the other was cupping his cheek. In the photo it was evident that he hadn't minded the embrace and suddenly I had the weirdest urge to cry.

I'd been looking at this rag mag as a terrible thing, a tragedy that defamed my character when I shouldn't have cared about the words smeared across that cover page at all. I should have been looking at the photo captured in it instead.

I'd been worried for the past few days since the kiss happened that Lord Sesshomaru had been mad at me for placing him into that sort of situation, but as I stared down at the picture reverently, I realized that he'd been as involved in the kiss as I had been. Why hadn't I seen that before?

Stupid alcohol.

Maybe Lord Sesshomaru really had been seeking me out the past year at whichever venue I performed. The more I stared at the photo the more it was beginning to seem less and less farfetched.

I looked away from the photo, down to the dress and then back to Kagome, grateful that in times of crisis she always knew how to step up and help me in whatever way she could. Kagome really was a sister to me. "Do you think my boobs will fit into that?"

* * *

><p>I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling a small fluttering of butterfly wings in my stomach. Was it possible to be in love with a dress? I hoped so, because I was beginning to suspect Lord Sesshomaru might have to woo my love away from the dress and to him if he ever decided he wanted me.<p>

The dress was a deep purple with an even deeper v-neck, the edges of it covered in diamonds until the v-neck ended into the dress. It was sleek and hugged every curve, making my chest look big, but covering it in a classy way even if there was ample cleavage. When I turned to admire the dress from the back, that was where I'd found myself captivated. It was backless, with two lines of diamonds reaching from my waist and up to the v-neck part of the gown. There was another trail of diamonds that formed around the start of the back of the dress, the material of the dress clinging to my backside nicely. The real beauty of my gown was that the train of the dress was the most breathtaking part of it. Diamonds formed just below the seat of the gown in a floral, swirling pattern, growing larger and spreading until it reached the end of the dress. I had on a simple pair of diamond earrings and an equally simple diamond bracelet, not wanting my jewelry to compete with the gown I'd so lovingly put on only moments before. Even my high heeled shoes were a simple silver color that were hidden beneath my dress.

I'd worn my hair in a sleek braided bun, allowing anyone and everyone to see my entire back, which looked amazing, especially with the two strings of diamonds that made my back look creamy instead of pale. It was a nice contrast.

I'd also gone for a dramatic smokey eye with mascara, a bit of blush and a deep pink lipstick shade that fit nicely with the color of the gown. Red lipstick just would have made the gown look cheap and I was distinctly glad for each and every little thing Lord Sesshomaru had provided for me, otherwise I might not have had all the accessories to pull such a gown off. He had to have had an assistant or someone female pick out a bunch of the items in my room. I couldn't believe he would know what all was needed. Unless he had googled it. Then it made sense.

I took a few steps around the room in the four inch heels, worried that I might not be able to walk in such stilettos, but as luck would have it, it was a much easier task than I had been anticipating. Considering I spent my life in flats, I was walking like a champion in those stilettos. I grabbed a small silver clutch from the walk-in closet and then exited my room and crossed the hall over to Kagome's, wanting to pat myself on the back for having such awesome skills walking in the heels I'd bravely put on my feet.

I didn't bother knocking, simply pulling open the door and stepping inside, careful that the train of my gown was safely away from the door before I closed it. I shut with a soft click, barely making any noise. I looked around the room, feeling slightly nervous when I didn't see Kagome, but rather heard an odd sound coming from inside her bathroom.

"Kagome? I figured you'd be ready by now." I called out, rushing to the bathroom when I heard a faint shriek from within. I barged in, more than ready to defend her against whatever had scared her so badly. "Kagome, what is it OHMYGODSWHYAREYOUANDINUYASHABOTHNAKED?!" I shrieked before stumbling away from the bathroom and back into the safety of the bedroom. "Can you two stop humping each other like rabbits for five damn minutes?! Inuyasha, put some pants on and get the hell out of this bedroom right now! Kagome needs to get ready and you're making it impossible!" I kept a hand wrapped protectively over my eyes, careful not to smudge my makeup as I yelled at both of them. Although why I had my hand covering my eyes was beyond me. I'd already seen EVERYTHING.

I'd seen things I didn't think would ever be erased from my mind. At least not until something else more shocking happened to me...And considering my track record with shocks the past few weeks, I was willing to bet something equally as shocking as seeing my cousin and a demon having sex in the bathroom was bound to happen before the evening was through.

"Would you relax, Rin? It's not a big deal. Besides, I was perfectly fine until I saw her in that dress she bought." Inuyasha scoffed and I heard his footsteps lead from the bathroom and toward the bedroom door. "I'd be careful if I were you, Rin. Wearing something like that is bound to rile up my brother. Feh. Bout time something did, anyway." And with that, Inuyasha shut the bedroom door behind him. I pulled my hand away from my eyes, glaring in his direction.

"Be careful?" I muttered under my breath. "Whatever." An image of me in my short nightgown being pulled up against Sesshomaru's hard body had me fidgeting uncomfortably. He had reacted as if he'd been riled up then. Should I have worn a wrap with this? My heart fluttered in my chest and I thought about being pressed up close to Sesshomaru again, his hands skimming my waist, his breath along the exposed column of my throat. I shivered.

Then again... A wrap wasn't necessary. Not at all.

"I am so sorry you saw that, Rin." Kagome came flying out from the bathroom. She stopped and gaped at me before whistling lowly. "You look so sexy, Rin! Sesshomaru would be a fool to let you out of his sight!" She came fully into the room, makeup and hair perfectly intact as she wiggled her body into her dress, tossing on a pair of heels that had lain forgotten by the bathroom door.

"Well at least he let you take your shoes off first." Kagome's cheeks heated. I laughed at her. "Seriously though. You're using protection, right?" Kagome paled in front of me. The look of slowly dawning horror on her face must have matched my own perfectly. We stared at each other with our mouths hanging open before I spoke. "No, you have got to be joking. You're never this naive, Kagome!" I scolded my older cousin, feeling yet again like the grown up out of the two of us. Shouldn't we both be acting like adults? And maybe my scolding was a tiny bit of jealousy on my part. I wanted someone to be intimate with. And I had that someone, I just needed to make him realize it.

"I hadn't even thought about it. How have I not been thinking about it?" Kagome placed a hand over her stomach as if she might be ill. Or as if she were cradling some precious cargo. "Holy crap. We haven't been using any protection. At all."

"Well, I guess you'll be giving him pups a bit sooner than expected, huh?"

Kagome's eyes widened like saucers. "Pups? Don't you mean babies?"

This time my cheeks heated with embarrassment. "Um. Sesshomaru says they're called pups to dog demons. I even heard Lord Inu refer to Sesshomaru as a whelp the other night."

"When did you talk to Lord Inu?"

Well crap. I had hoped to not discuss with Kagome what he'd told me. "I was playing the piano after the drink incident and he came in there to chat with me. You know, nothing important." Unless you considered his overwhelming urge to guide me closer to his son as something important. Which I did.

"Oh. Did you guys talk about anything in particular?" She cast a hard look in my direction, making me squirm slightly. It was really creepy how she had the power to know I was lying even before I'd opened my mouth. She'd been doing it since we were kids and I didn't think she'd be any more lenient on Inuyasha than she was on me.

"Nothing that I think we should talk about." I didn't want to spread around Sesshomaru's secrets, especially when I'd heard them from a second party. It wasn't right and I would feel terrible doing something like that. "It's nothing, really." Kagome nodded her head and looked away, clearly not satisfied with my answer.

"We should probably head downstairs now that we're both ready." Kagome sniffed and shook her head before plastering on a large smile for me. "Tonight is going to be so much fun!" I nodded my head in agreement although I was becoming more nervous about heading downstairs than I should have been.

Before I knew it we were walking briskly down the hallway and then we were at the top of the stairs.

The demons were waiting at the foot of the stairs but I hardly paid attention to anyone other than Sesshomaru. I sucked in a deep breath as I took in his form fitting black tuxedo, his hair flowing freely in waves of straight silver silk. He looked up when I sucked in a breath, our eyes meeting and holding before he took in my outfit, his eyelids lowering slightly but I caught a definite glimpse of red eyes before his golden orbs were back and rising slowly up my body to meet my own eyes again.

"Told you," Kagome whispered to me before winking. I blushed. So Kagome had seen his eyes change too? Then I hadn't been imagining it those other times as well. I wondered what the change in eye color meant?

Not wanting to waste any more time, I grabbed onto the banister, walking slowly down the steps until I reached the foyer. The next instant Lord Sesshomaru stood in front of me, his body practically invading my own personal bubble. Not that I minded. He smelled of the forest, deep and inviting. It was a pleasant aroma.

When a few moments passed of us just staring at each other I finally spoke up.

"You look very handsome, Lord Sesshomaru."

"The gown suits you, Rin." I smiled up at him, even though I wasn't exactly sure if that was a compliment or not.

"Yes, you two will be the most beautiful women in the room this evening. Be prepared to keep your dates close at hand, my sons." Lord Inu piped up before opening the front door and moving outside. Hit with a blast of cold air, I shuddered before turning back to Sesshomaru.

"I forgot my jacket, I'll just be right back."

"Nonsense." And with that, he quickly took off his suit tuxedo top, placing it gently over my shoulders. When his clawed hand lightly scraped against my collarbone I shivered again, but for an entirely different reason. Heat surged through my womb and coursed through my entire body, making my cheeks flush at our close proximity and the barest touch of his flesh on mine.

Lord Sesshomaru inhaled deeply before his eyes turned a blood red and he stepped into me, dropping his head to rest his face in the hollow of my neck. He breathed in deeply and his arms wrapped around my bare back. My first reaction was to glance around the foyer, more than thrilled to know everyone else had already stepped outside. I didn't want another rare moment of his affection to be seen by anyone other than myself. It was more precious to me than this gown was and I _loved_ this gown. My second reaction was to dance up on down in joy, even though I didn't. He was holding me! And it felt really nice. So good.

Hesitantly and not to startle him, I wrapped my hands around his neck, careful not to pull his long hair before I brought myself closer to him, letting my forehead rest comfortably on his shoulder. We stayed like that for a few minutes, neither of us breaking away from the contact that seemed so valuable.

"Is everything alright?" I asked lowly, wondering what had happened to cause such a change in him.

"Lately it has become more difficult to maintain certain control in your presence." The words came out harshly, almost as if he was at war with himself.

"Is that why your eyes change colors sometimes?"

"Hn."

"I know we don't know each other well enough yet, but you don't have to be so controlled around me. I kind of like it when you hold me like this." As soon as I said it I wanted to smack my head against a wall.

_Kind of like it? KIND OF? _It was the most wonderful sensation I'd ever experienced. It was so wonderful it was beyond proper description, but surely I could have said something better than 'kind of'. What was wrong with me?

Lord Sesshomaru broke apart from me a few moments later, letting his hands fall to his sides as mine did.

Another instant and Inuyasha appeared in the doorway. "Come on, love birds. We're going to be late enough as it is."

I gripped Sesshomaru's jacket around my body, trailing after the two demons and out to the limousine parked outside. I descended the last set of stairs and my shoe, caught on my gown, plunging me forward.

Strong arms gripped me to a tight, solid chest, Lord Sesshomaru's hands clutching my bare back almost possessively. When had his hands gotten under the jacket I had around my shoulders?

"I'm sorry," I smiled shyly up at him, a bit embarrassed by what had just happened.

Lord Sesshomaru didn't answer back, he only held me tighter to him, his eyes turning blood red and his claws moving up and down my back seductively. My breath caught and I moved my head up slightly, eyes starting to close when his head lowered to mine, our lips almost touching as our breath mingled.

"Come on!" Inuyasha hollered, breaking the moment between Lord Sesshomaru and myself. That was all it took for Lord Sesshomaru to remove his hands from me and for his mask to fall perfectly into place. I looked over to glare at Inuyasha, not caring if Sesshomaru saw me or not.

Inuyasha smiled and slid in to the limo first while Sesshomaru stood back and allowed me to enter before him. I slid into my seat and looked up in time to see Lord Inu winking at me and smiling before he looked away as if it had never happened.

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><p><strong>Don't forget to leave a review!<strong>

**-mo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! I've been sick the past few days (and still right now) and I have family coming to town next week, so I've been super busy. I'm going to write this chapter for y'all, but it will probably be a few weeks before another chapter will be available (prob. around Nov.15th). I hope this chapter is enough to sustain y'all until the next!**

**Much love,**

**Mo**

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><p>We pulled up to a concert hall located about an hour away from the manor, which wasn't surprising considering the manor was practically hidden away from civilization. Kagome sent a happy glance in my direction as the car came to a slow stop next to a long red carpet that led to the main entrance. There were velvet ropes on either side of the carpet, blocking off the massive amount of journalists and camera crews that lingered, harassing anyone and everyone that was on the red carpet. From what I could tell, it looked to be only demons on the carpet.<p>

"Now, now that it should be an issue, but remain close to your dates throughout the evening. Although this is a business gathering, I can only assume that some of the demons here will be eyeing you two as a threat and might act rashly."

"Why would they consider us a threat?" I asked as Kagome said, "Are there no other humans in there besides us?"

Lord Inu Taisho smiled kindly at both of us, his deep voice rumbling as he replied. "There are a few human business partners within the concert hall to be sure, however, it's the demons to concern yourselves with. As we are the most influential demons in the country, a few demon women have set their eyes on my sons and won't be pleased that their attentions have turned to you."

I sent a startled glance to Kagome, not sure how to respond. Although, I wasn't sure why I was so startled. I'd already experienced my share of fame being attached to Lord Sesshomaru, was it really so hard to believe these demon women would be irritated they were marrying humans? It didn't seem like that far of a stretch to me.

Lord Inu Taisho clasped his hand in mine, ignoring the way Sesshomaru seemed to tense when our hands made contact. "Everything will be fine, Rin. I merely enjoy exercising caution when it comes to you girls. You have no idea how important you are." He let go of my hand and straightened his bow tie as Shippo came around to the door, opening it slowly for us.

Lord Inu Taisho exited the vehicle first, followed by Inuyasha, Kagome, Sesshomaru and then I was stepping from the vehicle myself. Flashing lights blinded me slightly and I heard people screaming my name as I followed diligently behind Lord Sesshomaru, careful to keep as little distance between us as possible. The other demons we'd watched on the carpet had paused to allow the journalists to take photos of them, no doubt for some magazine or another, however, Sesshomaru moved neither fast nor slow into the building, pausing for no one. I came into the building maybe a second after he had, rather grateful we'd passed and left Kagome and Inuyasha on the carpet instead of pausing to wait for them.

If I was being honest with myself I had had enough of the limelight to last me quite a while. Like forever.

I turned to look behind me, waiting for Kagome and Inuyasha to head inside, more than a little nervous about the upcoming ball. What if I made a fool of myself and embarrassed Lord Sesshomaru? Granted I wasn't sure how I could possibly embarrass myself, but if there was a way then I was nearly positive it would happen. That was generally how it worked with me. Staring back at my cousin a bit wistfully, I didn't realize I had been staring out at the photographers for any length of time until I turned back to Sesshomaru and InuTaisho, only to find myself standing alone. Weren't we supposed to stay together?! I wondered if the two demons had even realized I'd stopped pursuing them to wait for my cousin and almost brother in law.

I turned back towards the ballroom, eyebrows raised slightly. I opened my mouth and closed it again, unsure of what I planned on saying. Shout for Lord Sesshomaru?

Please.

It was just a party, I could more than handle being by myself, although I was a little concerned that I'd been abandoned so quickly, especially given that Lord InuTaisho had made it clear we needed to be together at all costs. I glanced back and sighed, more than glad that Kagome and Inuyasha were nearly inside the building. I made my way to a vacant corner of the large foyer, noticing that I was one of the only people still lingering in the large first room.

"Can I help you find something?" The male voice said right next to me, causing me to jump slightly in alarm before I turned to the man that was apparently next to me. He was tall, with long black hair, pale skin and a slightly sinister expression on his face. Although he was quite handsome and the suit he wore aided in his looks, I took a cautious step to the side, placing a few feet in-between us. Something about him made me flesh crawl and a shiver raced down my spine in warning. Something about him wasn't quite right, even if I couldn't put my finger on it. The man stepped closer, invading my personal space and he smiled, almost pleased that he made me feel uncomfortable. He stared at me expectantly, obviously waiting for a reply.

"Oh, um... No, I'm alright. Thank you." I made a move to step back, careful to keep my long train out of my way as I moved. I couldn't explain why, but all I wanted to do was keep my distance from the being before me. I wasn't sure how I knew, considering he looked human, but there was something demonic about him. Maybe he was a half demon like Inuyasha? Although Inuyasha didn't have this sort of... aura around him that this man did. Almost an evil presence, if I could call it that.

"Nonsense." The man's arm gripped my elbow, drawing me almost into his embrace. When I kept my feet planted firmly on the floor the man stepped up to me, trying to create as little distance between us as possible. I looked side to side, hoping there was someone in the room who could help me out. There was no one else in the room but us. "Surely someone as enchanting as yourself wouldn't prefer to remain alone?"

"I'm actually here with someone." I tugged my elbow slightly, hoping he would loosen his grip and step away from me. I didn't want to cause a scene and more importantly I didn't want to embarrass Sesshomaru if someone was merely trying to be polite. Didn't rich men enjoy leading women around by the elbow? Probably, because it practically screamed of dominance. I wanted to cringe from either the display of dominance or the hands that kept moving inappropriately on my arms, or most likely both.

"Oh?" Instead I found his other hand being placed along the exposed lower part of my back, pulling me closer to his body. His hands were like ice and my breath caught, feeling more than a little startled. I laid my hands on his chest and pushed against him, forcing as much distance as I could. "I think you need to keep your hands to yourself, sir." I wanted to slap the creep in the face, instead I used one of my hands to remove his hand from my back. He was making my skin crawl.

"Who would be so unwise to leave such a treasure behind in a building full of demons?"

"I think it's time for you to let her go, Naraku." Inuyasha sneered the words, appearing next to us and then in-between that Naraku guy and myself, making sure the demon's hands were away from me. Kagome walked hurriedly over to our little 'group', standing slightly in front of me as if she could protect me from the person in front of us.

"Ah, Inuyasha. I see you have such great taste in women, but surely you wouldn't mind sharing one just for this evening?" Naraku's eyes danced with glee as he moved his head to stare past Inuyasha, his eyes raking over my body before he smiled back at Inuyasha, his smile all teeth. "The lovely lady would be such exquisite company." I shuddered.

"You'll have to ask Sesshomaru if he minds you sharing another moment with his fiancé, not me."

Naraku stiffened as I sucked in a breath. Sesshomaru appeared out of nowhere behind Naraku, his face a careful mask of indifference. Usually if he appeared out of nowhere it was after a ball of light acknowledge his arrival, yet this time there was barely a whisper of movement before he was standing behind the creepy man I'd just met, staring him down as if a look alone could squish him into the floor.

"What is the meaning of this, Naraku?" Sesshomaru's words were drawn out evenly, almost as if he could care less what was happening, but I was starting to know him a bit better and I had a feeling he was anything but indifferent. Kagome gripped my arm, clearly as alarmed as I was at the events unfolding before us.

Naraku turned and backed up a few steps, making sure the brothers both remained in his line of sight. "I was merely wondering why you left your fiancé unattended in such a location. Although, I suppose I'm more curious as to when you gained a fiancé. It seems like only yesterday you were wining and dining my sister, Kagura." Kagura was his sister? Bleh, no wonder I could barely stomach the sight of him.

I nearly rolled my eyes. Was this Naraku guy seriously trying to intimidate me by mentioning his scheming sister? It would take more than that creep to get me to believe Sesshomaru had any interest in his sister.

"None of it is your concern, half breed." My eyes widened even as Kagome's mouth dropped open. Lord Sesshomaru said the words 'half breed' with such contempt I was surprised the heat of it didn't melt Naraku's eyebrows right off of his face. I let go of Kagome's arm and walked over to Sesshomaru, careful to keep a respectable distance from Naraku. I didn't want his hands to come anywhere near me or my body again. I reached for Sesshomaru, sighing in relief when my arm wrapped along his forearm, our fingers nearly touching.

I didn't miss the look on Naraku's face when my hand grabbed ahold of Sesshomaru's, entwining our fingers together. His eyes narrowed and his upper lip lifted as if in a snarl. What was wrong with this creep?

"Lord Sesshomaru, should we meet with your father? I think the party has already started and I'm eager to join the festivities." _And get the hell away from that whole weird situation, _I thought to myself.

Lord Sesshomaru looked down at me for a moment, his eyes softening slightly before they hardened as he looked back at Naraku. Without another word, Sesshomaru turned back to the ballroom, his clawed hand gripping mine gently before he led me away from the group and into the room.

I couldn't help my sigh of relief at Lord Sesshomaru's arrival, but for some strange reason I felt eyes glaring at my back as I walked away.

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><p>We sat at a table towards the front of the ballroom, facing the stage and podium that had obviously been set up for the occasion. The stage was large and well decorated, making the plaques on one of the tables look quite lovely. Our table, as all the others in the ballroom, was large and sat our entire group, and luckily, it was just us at the spacious table. I wasn't sure how I would handle small talk with a bunch of strangers throughout the evening, especially considering how the evening had already started. Lord Sesshomaru hadn't said a word about the Naraku incident, but he seemed rattled. As in, when he thought no one was looking his cold stare found the back of Naraku's head and remained there. Kind of like a beast stalking its prey. I was more than thrilled Sesshomaru hadn't witnessed that Naraku guy grab ahold of me, otherwise I wasn't sure what could have happened. I had a strange feeling it might have involved bloodshed. I also knew that I needed to thank Inuyasha as soon as I had a moment out of Sesshomaru's earshot.<p>

The rest of the tables were scattered around the giant room, leaving the dance floor and the orchestra on the other side of the room. A few couples were on the floor, swaying happily back and forth, although most of the occupants were seated, more than likely waiting to eat and drink a few glasses of wine before hitting the dance floor.

"So what exactly is this ball for?" Kagome asked Lord InuTaisho, expecting a more straightforward answer from him as opposed to Inuyasha.

"Some of the most prestigious companies in all of Japan gather once a year for an awards banquet of sorts." Which would explain the plaques scattered around the table on the stage.

"Do you think you'll win a few awards?" Inuyasha snorted at her question.

"Come on Kagome, you do realize we own the most amount of companies throughout Japan. Of course we're going to win most of them, although I don't think any of us really care about whatever awards we might win."

"Well, either way, I think it's exciting." Kagome retorted, turning her nose up at Inuyasha and looking my way. "Would you care to accompany me to the ladies' room?" My back stiffened at her words.

_Get up and leave the safety of the table? Was she out of her mind?_ I had barely made it through the front door without some creeper trying to grope me and she wanted me to leave the safe haven of demons? Then again, surely that Naraku character would leave me alone now that he knew who I had come to the ball with. Lord Sesshomaru wasn't known for his kind behavior, especially towards those he felt were inferior.

"Sure." I stood from the table, a little shocked when Lord Sesshomaru immediately stood as well, helping me from the table and placing my hand in the crook of his elbow. The breath of relief I felt was almost instantaneous, although I hadn't actually expected Lord Sesshomaru to escort us to the restroom.

Inuyasha stood as well, taking Kagome's hand in his as we followed them from the table and out to the main lobby, Lord Sesshomaru and I following slightly behind.

"Is everything alright, Rin?" Lord Sesshomaru's low voice had me looking up at the beautiful creature before me, still not quite believing that someone so amazing was in my life. It was funny, I couldn't remember when I started thinking of him as my anything, but after the incident with Naraku, I was extremely glad he was my protector, fiancé, and hopefully one day my lover and spouse. I didn't think I'd ever felt as safe as I did when I was with him.

"Yes," I answered, feeling more comfortable with him next to me than I had since we'd arrived. I had a feeling as long as he was with me then I would be perfectly fine. Well, more than fine. You get what I mean.

I let go of his hand reluctantly and followed Kagome through the door and to the women's bathroom. Kagome checked her reflection in the mirror, causing me to do the same since we weren't talking and I didn't want to awkwardly stare at her as she spruced up. I was a bit startled by my appearance, forgetting for a moment that I'd been wearing makeup and tucked into the most revealing/seductive/gorgeous gown I'd ever seen in my entire life.

I looked goooood.

"Are you alright?" Kagome finally asked, making sure to keep her gaze in the mirror and not on me. She reached into her clutch, pulling out a tube of lipstick and applying another coat to her lips, careful to keep the coat from smearing as it dried.

"I'm okay," I told her, although I just wanted the moment with that Naraku guy out of my mind. There was something just wrong about him. Plus, tonight was supposed to be fun and changing tide in my relationship with Sesshomaru, hopefully even ending the evening with a kiss and a promise of another date. Or to Sesshomaru, an actual date. Fingers crossed this dress helped me out on that front.

"That guy creeped me out. I'm really glad Inuyasha spotted you, otherwise we would have walked right past you. Who knows what would have happened then?" Kagome shuddered, taking a piece of a paper towel and moving it under the bottom row of her lashes, removing any excess eye liner.

"Probably a swift kick to the balls," I half-joked. Kagome turned from the mirror and gripped my hands in hers, staring at me intently.

"I want you to stay away from that guy. I didn't like the way he looked at you. Gave me a bad feeling." I'd known Kagome all my life, and just like when she knew when someone was lying, she definitely knew when someone was up to no good. It was just something she said she'd always felt about certain people or situations, and after years of her being right, I wasn't about to doubt her now.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought their was something off about him. You felt it too?" I whispered to her, hoping the demons wouldn't be eavesdropping on our conversation. Lord Sesshomaru was too much of a gentleman for that... At least I thought so. I'd only known him for a few weeks, so it wasn't like I knew everything about him or his personality. For all I knew he could be listening in for a possible threat to us. THAT wouldn't surprise me.

Kagome shuddered slightly, goosebumps raising on her arms before she spoke. "Yeah, I felt it. It felt evil." I rolled my eyes, but Kagome pulled my arms, causing me to look back at her. "I'm not joking. There was something sinister about him, although I don't know what. Don't go anywhere without Sesshomaru for the rest of the night, okay?"

I chill went down my spine, but I nodded my head, knowing when to heed a warning. "Of course, Kagome. I won't let Sesshomaru out of my sight, I promise." I smiled happily at her before tugging her towards the bathroom door. "Now, if that's all the ominous warnings for the evening and you don't actually need to use the bathroom, I really want to get back to my date." I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively before pulling open the door, making sure the skirt of my dress didn't get caught on anything.

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><p>Over an hour later and the party was in full swing. We'd been served food and wine, probably a glass too many if I was honest with myself, and they were currently announcing some of the awards for the evening. I couldn't remember what all the awards had been for, but the Taisho men had a pretty little stack of plaques on the table. No wonder we'd been given our own table, we needed the extra space for all the awards.<p>

After the last of the awards were given out the speaker introduced the Taisho men, much to mine and Kagome's surprise, and they all stood and made their way to the stage. We clapped diligently along with the rest of the people in the audience.

Lord Inu Taisho grabbed the microphone on the stand, smiling politely into the crowd.

"I'm sure there were a few more awards for us somewhere on that table," Inu Taisho joked. The audience laughed appropriately. "Now, generally before we begin the partying for the evening, I or one of my sons who host the event close off the ceremony by saying a few words about where we hope the company will be by the next year and all the great things we have to come for the company. However, we have something far more special to share this evening and before it makes it to the tabloids, we prefer to spread it among our friends and colleagues as well as a few distinguished journalists." Lord InuTaisho cleared his throat before speaking casually into the mic. "Ladies, would you do us the honors of joining us on stage?" Kagome and I looked at one another. I thought I was going to faint. Go on stage in front of all those people?

Then I paused. When did I ever get stage fright? Weird.

Kagome and I remained seated, unsure what to do.

"I think our lovely ladies are being rather bashful this evening." More laughter. "How about a round of applause to coax these beauties on stage?" At his words uproarious applause startled me out of my chair, almost giving me a heart attack. Kagome stood more slowly (gracefully), and led the way to the stage, gripping my hand tightly in her own as she made her way up the staircase. I grabbed the skirt of my gown, lifting it slightly over my heels to keep from tripping up the stairs. Wouldn't that be a great way to meet everyone? Face planting on stage?

My feet landed on the stage with a soft click of the heel and I followed Kagome's example and stood next to Sesshomaru while she stood next to Inuyasha. My heart beat frantically in my chest and I thought I was on the verge of hyperventilating.

I understood the need to tell others of our engagements, I just hadn't expected it to be on stage in front of the entire ballroom full of extremely important demons and humans. What if someone threw something at us? Okay, I doubted it would happen while I was next to Sesshomaru (and hopefully it would never happen again), but the fear was still fresh in my mind.

"It is my pleasure to announce that these two lovely ladies will be joining our family. May I introduce my eldest son Lord Sesshomaru and his soon to be wife, Rin Higurashi and my son Lord Inuyasha with his fiancé Kagome Higurashi." There was a moment of stunned silence before the applause began, a bit subdued but given nonetheless. I exhaled slowly, my hands wringing together nervously. "It has been a few hundred years since the marriage of myself and my wife Izayoi and I know I am looking forward to having a few new members added into this family. I know with your love and support, our family and company will continue to thrive and prosper in the years to come. Thank you all for listening and let's get this party started, shall we?" He motioned towards the orchestra who diligently began another song, something upbeat.

Lord Sesshomaru made his way to the stage stairs, reaching back to clasp my hand, helping me down the steps, no doubt expecting me to tumble down the steps like I had done back at the manor. I sucked in a breath at the contact. If I wasn't mistaken, this was the first time he was willingly taking my hand in public, and possibly at all, and it felt amazing. I didn't feel like a secret anymore and it was a bit extraordinary.

"That was incredibly awkward," I whispered to Lord Sesshomaru, still holding his hand in mine as we walked back to our table. Our fingers entwined, the pad of his thumb running over the pulse in my wrist, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Hn." Sesshomaru replied, obviously agreeing with me. Or something. He released my hand, driving the warmth from it in an instant. He moved ahead of me, pulling back my chair and helping me into my seat before taking his own next to me.

"That was exciting!" Kagome gushed as she sat down, not bothering to wait for Inuyasha to guide her to her chair.

"Nerve wracking, maybe." I replied.

"Rin," Lord Inu Taisho called from beside me and Lord Sesshomaru. "Would you care to dance, young lady?" I blushed and smiled. I took his hand, letting him pull me from my seat, leaving my companions at the table as Lord Inu led me to the dance floor.

The music the orchestra played was light and simple enough to keep me from stumbling over my feet as we danced.

Lord Inu Taisho clasped my hand in his, holding it out slightly to the side to lead us across the dance floor. His other hand rested on my hip, careful to remain on the clothing of my gown and not on my skin, which I was grateful for.

"I'm sorry to have distressed you. I didn't think to mention exactly how we would be spreading the news of the engagements."

"It's fine," I said lightly, trying to wave away the apology.

"I know you had a run-in with Naraku." I looked at him curiously. When did we mention the Naraku incident at the table? "I could smell him on you when you arrived at the table. A bit of a rotten odor. He's one of our competitors, although he is a fellow businessman. Are you alright?" I smelled like Naraku? Great. The thought nearly had me running out of the ballroom and back to the manor to take about 10 showers and 4 baths just to get the stench off of me.

I looked around, making sure Sesshomaru was still back at the table. Currently our table was surrounded by plenty of people, most giving hearty handshakes to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, no doubt about the engagements. I laughed at that, my mood lifting slightly before looking back at Lord Inu to answer his question.

"He made me uncomfortable. He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let it go until Inuyasha came in and stepped in between us." Lord Inu's eyes darkened. "Please don't say anything to Lord Sesshomaru. I don't think he'd be upset, but I don't want to be wrong and anger him over nothing. The problem was avoided and that's all that matters, isn't it?"

Lord Inu spun me around before dragging me back to him, leading me through another dance sequence.

"I will remain silent on the issue, only because I fear my son's response to such behavior. However, if that man makes you feel uncomfortable again, you will inform Sesshomaru at once. Are we understood?"

I nodded my head slowly, feeling slightly scolded.

"Now, I trust you'll enjoy the rest of your evening? I'll need to leave soon to pick my wife up from the private runway when she returns in a few hours."

"Lady Izayoi is coming home?" It would be exciting to meet the Lady of the West.

"Indeed she is, child." Lord Inu stopped dancing abruptly, even though the orchestra continued to play the current song. I cast a curious glance in his direction, unsure of what was happening when he let go of my hands, allowing his own to drop to his sides. Lord Inu Taisho smiled at me. "I believe someone else would enjoy the pleasure of your company." He smiled to someone behind me, causing me to turn around, arms dangling uselessly at my sides.

Lord Sesshomaru stood close to me, looking especially dashing in his black tuxedo, his silver locks framing his face perfectly even if he kept his usual blank expression on his face as our eyes locked. I looked back at the table, still full of people and then to him, smiling happily. "Have you come to avoid the hoards of people, my Lord?" Lord Inu disappeared into the background, out of my mind as soon as he left my line of sight.

"It is possible." Lord Sesshomaru stated. We stared at one another a few more seconds, neither of us making the first move as other couples danced around us, some casting curious glances our way.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked him, hoping his answer would be yes. I'd been waiting for an excuse to hold him to me all evening, and I wasn't going to squander it now. Not if I could help it.

Without waiting for his reply, I stepped forward and grabbed his hands, pulling him to me slowly. He released one of our hands, his free clawed hand spanning along the smooth skin of my lower back, gently tugging me to him until our bodies were pressed together, the thin material of my gown leaving my body flush against his. I felt my body heat as he stared down at me a moment longer before he started moving, gliding our bodies smoothly around the dance floor.

The music changed to a slow melody, making me giddy with excitement. I was going to spend an entire song in Sesshomaru's arms! I would hopefully also replace that cruddy scent with the smell of Sesshomaru, all forest and spices. The thought nearly had me melting into a puddle on the floor.

"I didn't expect you to dance," I said an instant before he spun me around slowly, the train of my gown twirling around before Sesshomaru pulled me back into his arms. His hand caressed my back, running slowly up and down my spine as we swayed to the music being played for us. The movement was unexpected but it was sensual. I didn't want it to stop. "Were you surprised at your dad announcing our engagement on stage?"

"Yes."

"You didn't seem surprised. Maybe you get engaged more than once every few centuries." I joked, trying to keep my voice steady even as it quivered under Lord Sesshomaru's touch. His hand running up and down my back was causing me to flush and to breathe a bit deeper as we swayed together.

Lord Sesshomaru bent down, his cheek pressed to mine as he spoke into my ear. "I can hear your heart beating rapidly." His breath caressed along my skin, causing a shiver to move through my spine, which his hand no doubt felt. His hand tightened along my back, holding me infinitely closer as our bodies swayed back and forth, his chin resting comfortably on the top of my head.

I closed my eyes, letting my head and free hand rest against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart as we moved. The steps were small and slow, lulling me into an almost dreamlike state. I was warm and cozy and safe, all the perfect conditions a woman could have when a man held her in his arms. At least that was my own opinion.

The song ended too soon and we broke apart slowly, Lord Sesshomaru's hand locking around mine as he led us both off the dance floor. I expected us to head back to the table, but instead we made our way out of the ballroom and into the foyer. Moving at a pace I was growing used to, Lord Sesshomaru led me down a hallway I hadn't noticed before and up a spiral staircase that was cut off from the main staircase located in the foyer.

Where were we heading?

We reached the end of the staircase, Lord Sesshomaru leading me down a dark hallway that had obviously been abandoned for the event happening that evening. Where on earth were we going?

I opened my mouth to speak as we turned the corner and went through a set of double doors, and quickly shut it again as I realized where we were.

I looked around, amazed to find a type of garden inside the building. The room was made completely of glass, which made it a greenhouse, allowing light in daily to keep the flowers alive. There was even a concrete walkway among the grass. Flowerbeds were scattered along the room, all housing different types of exotic flowers, some I'd never even seen before.

Lord Sesshomaru kept walking until we reached a bench that was placed right next to a fountain that practically glowed in the moonlight that was shining above our heads. Lord Sesshomaru turned towards me, his features seemingly enhanced by the moonlight. Everything about him was more enchanting than it normally was, the affect of it stealing my breath as soon as our eyes met.

"Do you find it adequate?" He asked me, his hands slowly moving up to cup my face. My eyes softened when his hands touched my skin, gently drawing me closer to him. His golden eyes stared into mine, almost like melted pools of gold, his expression more intense than I'd ever seen it before.

"I think it's very beautiful, don't you?"

Lord Sesshomaru remained silent, staring down at me from his superior height. It was almost difficult to stare up at him because I was standing pretty close and he was so tall, even when I had heels on. I smiled at his silence, knowing he wasn't necessarily a demon of many words unless they were words he considered important.

"Rin." Sesshomaru said my name as a caress, almost as if he didn't think I was actually there. His eyelids lowered slightly, giving him a slumberous and slightly seductive look. My mouth dried in startled anticipation. Had a man ever looked at me like that before? If they had then it was nothing compared to the demon looking down at me now.

"Yes, my Lord?"

Lord Sesshomaru drew me into the warmth of his body, his hands cupping the back of my neck as he bent his head towards mine. He seemed to move in slow motion, yet everything seemed to move too fast, all at once.

Lord Sesshomaru pressed his lips tenderly against mine, his eyes shutting a moment before I closed my own. _Holy crap, he kissed me!_

A sound like a growl escaped his throat and he released the back of my neck, his hands wrapping around the bare skin of my back and pressing me as close to him as I could possibly get.

I brought my hands to his chest, my fingers wrapping around the lapels of his jacket, holding him to me as ours lips parted and his tongue brushed against mine. A shiver went down my spine at the contact and I let go of his jacket, letting my hands work their way into his silky hair and bringing him closer to me. We pressed against each other roughly, almost as if we could sink into each other's skin if we tried hard enough. Feeling brazen, I bit down on his bottom lip, groaning a bit when he growled at me and ran his hands down my back, cupping my rear and kneading the flesh there.

We broke the kiss almost at the same time. I was breathing heavily and well... Sesshomaru looked slightly out of breath, but mostly fine for a demon who had just been making out with me. I blushed, knowing he saw it when he bent down and kissed me again, this time a quick peck on the lips before he wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his face into my neck, inhaling my scent into his lungs._  
><em>

I prayed he didn't smell anything even kind of like Naraku on my skin and instead it would be lavender mixed with the forest. A combination of our scents. Wouldn't that be nice?

I let him hold me to him for a few minutes, thinking our silent embrace should be awkward after awhile, but it was warm and inviting and comforting. What was it about this demon?

"We should probably head back to the party before people start to suspect a scandal. Well, another scandal. Can't have you looking bad to the tabloids, now can we?" I joked lightly, not wanting the moment to end but knowing we couldn't stay hidden in this secret garden forever.

"Come." Lord Sesshomaru held my hand in his, leading me away from our private garden and back towards the party.

* * *

><p>"Wasn't it such a wonderful evening?" Kagome collapsed onto her bed, sighing happily before sitting up and staring at me. She grinned, reaching over and poking my shoulder. "You and Sesshomaru disappeared for a little while. Where did you two go?"<p>

I blushed, sure that my face was practically bright red, getting hotter as the seconds ticked by.

"Uh." My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "We may or may not have just gotten some alone time. You know, we just wanted to get away from the party for a few minutes."

"You were gone for half an hour! Come on, spill! I won't leave you alone until you tell me everything!"

"What?! I'm not going to tell you everything. It was private." I folded my arms and looked away, not wanting to crack under the pressure Kagome was supplying. My cousin huffed, using her elbows to hold her upper body up from the bed.

"You didn't have sex with him did you?" My mouth dropped open and I shrieked at her, shoving her back down onto the bed as she laughed at me.

"You are so mean! You think I was going to have sex for the first time during a party? I'm not 17!" Kagome sat up again. "Besides, having sex during a party is kind of lame, don't you think?" This time Kagome cleared her throat, her face growing a dull shade of red to contrast with her vivid red dress. "Oh my gods, you had sex with Inuyasha during the party?! You're such a horn dog, Kagome!" I laughed happily, still reeling from the kisses I'd received earlier.

"At least tell me some of what happened, Rin! You're practically glowing. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were in love with him." I blushed again, looking down at the hands folded in my lap.

"He took me into this greenhouse type room and he kissed me, and that's all you need to know!" I gushed quickly, almost afraid that if I said the words aloud they would disappear from my mind before I could keep them with me.

"Ooh!" Kagome shrieked, jumping from the bed and kicking off her shoes before jumping around the room, squealing in delight. "I was hoping you would say something like that! I knew it! I knew he wouldn't be able to think straight with you in that dress! And to think, the night started off so terribly. I'm glad it ended on a good note."

"Me too," I agreed, standing from her bed also, feeling more tired than I had in days. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Maybe take a shower. Who knows."

"Okay, well if you can't go to sleep just holler at me and I'll come hang out. Since Lord InuTaisho took his wife to some fancy hotel for the evening we don't need to worry about being quiet." She bit her lip. "Well, I might end up at Inuyasha's home. He said if I was up for it he would show me around."

"Oh that's right, I'd completely forgotten he wasn't coming back tonight. Which stinks, because I really want to meet her! I'm sure you do too, considering she's Inuyasha's mother."

"I'm kind of nervous actually, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I've only heard lovely things about her, so I'm certain she's wonderful."

I nodded my agreement, reaching her bedroom door and leaving through it, shutting it softly behind me as I headed across the hall and into my own bedroom.

I closed my bedroom door, leaning up against it on a sigh, smiling to myself. I pressed my fingers to my lips, almost as if I could still feel Sesshomaru's lips pressed to mine. I didn't think I would ever forget the feel of his soft, velvet lips touching my skin.

I kicked off my heels, my feet practically wailing in gratitude. I bent over and picked up the heels, taking them over to my closet and setting them in their designated place. I gently removed the dress, giving it extra care as I hung it in a separate area of the closet, intent on having it dry cleaned a few days from now.

* * *

><p>After a quick shower I toweled off in the bathroom, removing a little bit of excess mascara that was under my eyes before slipping on a thin tank top, silky pajama shorts and a blood red silk kimono robe. I dried my hair a bit with the towel before placing it in a side braid, tying it off when the braid ended down past my chest.<p>

I entered the bedroom, a bit surprised to find the lights off, the bathroom the only thing illuminating my room.

Immediately I felt uneasy, uncertain what the issue was. I didn't remember turning off the light in the main room, but obviously I'd done so or else the lights would still be on, right? I was probably a lot more tired than I'd given myself credit for earlier. Hell, maybe each of the lights had burned out. At the same time. Or something. It wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened to me in my entire life.

I stepped into the room, reaching a wall with the light switch, pressing down until I heard the click of the light switch. When nothing happened I sighed in relief. So the light had burned out. That made sense. I left the bathroom door open, the light shining into a portion of the room, leaving the rest covered in darkness. I shivered, probably from the cool air on my still damp skin, but it felt like something was in the room with me. I looked around, still not seeing anything. I wrapped the kimono tightly around me, rushing over to the clutch that should have been on the vanity desk a few feet from the bedroom door. I made it just in time for the bathroom door to slam shut, making me jump at the wood slamming into the door frame.

"Kagome, if this is you, it's not funny." As I talked I grabbed the clutch, slowly pulling open the bag and reaching inside, pulling out my cellphone. I unlocked the phone, walking steadily towards the bedroom door as I hit the first number on my speed dial.

A deep, dark chuckle came from my right and I shined my phone screen in that direction even as my other hand reached the door handle, turning it and jerking it open, light shining in from the hallway.

I gasped and stepped out into the hallway, my steps slow and steady as I stared at the person only a few feet from me. My phone finally made the call, connecting halfway through the first ring.

"Rin." Sesshomaru's voice sounded on the other end. A deep snarl came from my bedroom as Naraku stepped forward, his face twisted into an ugly snarl. I guessed he realized what I'd been up to.

"Sessho-" Naraku lunged for me, his features contorted into a mask of rage. I screamed, throwing my phone at the half demon and fleeing, barely making it a few steps before rough hands grabbed me around the waist and threw me backward. I landed with a thump against a nearby wall, my head smacking harshly against the thick wood.

"Kagome," I called out, the sound barely a whisper as it escaped past my lips.

"Your precious Kagome is long gone. No doubt whoring around with that pathetic Inuyasha," Naraku spit the name out at me. He reached down, grabbed my neck and dragging me up the wall until my feet dangled a few feet from the ground. I coughed, scratching at his hands as the breath left my lungs. "You think you can just entice me and then find yourself in another's arms? YOU ARE MINE!" The hand tightened on my neck, almost crushing the bones there. I had to do something, anything.

My foot moved as quickly as I could make it, connecting sharply with Naraku's crotch. The demon sucked in a breath and dropped me, my feet barely touching the ground before I sailed past him. I don't know what made me think I could outrun a demon, even a half demon, but I wailed in terror as he grabbed my shoulder, his fingers digging into my skin and yanking me back, ripping the kimono and tank top as he did so.

I collapsed into a heap on the floor, my kimono fanned out around me, exposing my shoulders and neck. I looked up, expecting to find the psychotic demon charging at me. Instead the dimly lit hallway was empty. I sucked in a breath, tears falling down my cheeks as I sat up as quickly as I could manage, looking behind me. No one was there. I stood slowly, unsure of what was going on when a hand grabbed my bruised shoulder.

I screamed, yanking my shoulder back and turning to face Naraku, only to find Lord Sesshomaru staring back at me with concern. I threw myself at him, my legs wrapping around his waist and my hands circling his shoulders, forcing him to circle my hips with one of his hands.

My entire body shook as I clutched on to him tightly, afraid if I let go then Naraku would come back. "Naraku was in my bedroom." The words came out thick behind my tears. Sesshomaru's shoulders stiffened.

"I don't detect his scent." His words were harsh as he clutched me tightly to him.

"He was in there. And then I tried to get away and he grabbed me. I-I-I fought him to get away but I don't know where he went. Oh gods, I didn't see anything. He was just gone. How can he just disappear?"

"Rin. You need to get down. I'll search the premises."

I released my limbs from his body, sinking back down to my feet and slightly away from him. Lord Sesshomaru looked down, his eyes turning blood red as he stared the bruised skin that was already darkening my shoulder and neck. I looked down at myself, noticing that the tear on my tank top went further than I though, exposing most of the side of my breast. I wrapped the torn kimono around me, shivering uncontrollably.

"Please let me come with you. I don't think I can be by myself while you look around."

"Come." Sesshomaru stepped into my bedroom, inhaling deeply. "I smell nothing." I lingered in the lit hallway, afraid to head back into my dark room.

"I don't know why you can't smell him, but he was definitely here."

"Interesting." The words came out low and menacing, almost making me step back with the intensity of his growing hatred. Sesshomaru searched the bathroom and closet before coming back into the hallway, his eyes still blood red. His markings were more defined on his face, his jaw looking slightly longer than it had before.

"He said that Kagome was with Inuyasha. You don't think he was lying, do you?"

Sesshomaru grabbed into his pocket, pulling out a slim phone and dialing it before handing it to me.

The phone clicked on. "Listen, Sesshomaru, I'm kind of busy right now." Kagome giggled in the background.

"Kagome's safe with you?" I breathed the words out.

"Rin? Yeah, she's right here. What's wrong?" His tone was concerned and I almost started crying again, my eyes stinging with a fresh wave of tears.

"Naraku was here."

"Oh shit. Hang on, Kagome and I will be there as soon as we can." The phone went dead a moment later. I looked up at Sesshomaru, whose features were slowly returning to normal the more he stared at me. I breathed in deeply, hoping to get some of my emotions under control before Inuyasha and Kagome arrived. I stepped to Sesshomaru, placing my hand in his and leaning back against a wall, wincing when my head made contact. With a free hand I rubbed the sore spot, glad there wasn't a cut on it. In fact, I was feeling surprisingly lucky, all things considered.

"I think you scared Naraku off." Sesshomaru's upper lip lifted in a snarl.

"He will die." His voice was guttural, more beast than man and his eyes flashed red once again, his clawed hands extending beneath my fingers. I let go quickly, unsure of what was going on with him.

"Rin!" Kagome shouted from down the hall, Inuyasha carrying her on his back as he ran quickly toward us. The couple paused a second before they reached us, Inuyasha reaching down and pulling Kagome down and next to him.

"We searched outside before we came in. I didn't smell Naraku anywhere, but I still searched the property. There is nothing there. There wasn't any sign of him on the first floor or on the second. If he's still in here then he's on this floor."

"No. The only heartbeats in the manor belong to the four of us."

"I don't sense anything sinister either. I think he's gone." Kagome got a good look at me, rushing to my side and pulling me into her arms, ignoring the warning look Sesshomaru gave her. "Oh, Rin! You're all bruised," Kagome cried into my good shoulder and I patted her back, sliding back into the role of protector as opposed to victim.

"If he's not in here then where did he go?"

"Feh. The coward probably fled for his worthless life."

I sure hoped he was right.

* * *

><p>Sesshomaru and Inuyasha searched every room in the manor, leaving Kagome and I alone in her bedroom, clutching at each other like a couple of scaredy cats until the demons came back for us.<p>

Sesshomaru took me back into my bedroom, the lights fixed and shining brightly throughout the room. I looked around, expecting to see Naraku charging at me like he had earlier, but my room was peaceful, if a bit somber.

"I should probably get some sleep."

I turned back to Sesshomaru, smiling softly at him. "Would it be alright if you stayed with me? I'm kind of afraid to be by myself in here and I'd feel better knowing you'd be here to kick his ass if he pulled another stunt like that." Or kill him. I didn't think I would mind Sesshomaru killing him. I should have been ashamed of my thoughts, but as my neck throbbed dangerously, it was hard to keep all the negative thoughts out of my head. I'd been attacked senselessly and I didn't think I would care if Sesshomaru killed Naraku.

"Hn." I made my way to my closet, wincing slightly as I removed the kimono and tank top, not bothering to shut Sesshomaru out as I did so. I didn't want a door separating us, not after the night I'd had. I grabbed another silk tank top, wincing again as it slid over my tender shoulder. I turned, surprised to find Sesshomaru at the entrance of the walk in closet, watching me change.

I blushed slightly, although I was a bit too exhausted and shell shocked to be truly aware of the fact that Sesshomaru had been blatantly staring at my bare back. Why was he so fascinated with it? It was something to think about another day, when I had less to worry about.

Back in the bedroom I pulled the sheets and comforter back sliding into the bed as painlessly as possible. Sesshomaru stood off to the side, still in his slacks and white button up shirt from the ball. "There's plenty of room up here if you want to join me." I patted beside me on the bed before turning on the lamp on the nightstand. Sesshomaru turned off the bedroom light afterward. Slowly he pulled off his dress shoes, setting them out of his way and unbuttoned his shirt, removing it and draping it over the chair at the vanity. I wanted to whistle lowly when I saw his upper chest and back, but I refrained, instead staring blatantly at his sculpted back as he faced away from me. I think I might have even drooled slightly and I definitely drooled a little when he turned around, his abs silhouetted by the light at my nightstand, his arms muscular and sleek all at once. His body was lean but muscular and he had two sets magenta stripes on his forearms and two on his upper arms, even two long vertical stripes that started from his pectorals and reached across his back, touching each of his shoulder blades. I'd never seen anything like it before.

Not wasting another moment, Sesshomaru sat on the bed, his back leaned against the headboard as he sat on top of the covers, clearly giving me some space. I kept the light on, afraid to be in the dark and turned towards Sesshomaru, one arm wrapping around his waist and my head resting on his lower abs, right next to his hip.

"Is this alright?"

"Hn."

"Thank you for coming when I called. I don't know what might have happened if you hadn't been here." A strong arm wrapped around my side, his hand resting leisurely on my hip.

"Rest, Rin. This Sesshomaru will protect you."

I nodded my head and closed my eyes, dozing off almost instantly.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, this was by far the longest chapter I've ever had on one of my fanfics, so I hope you guys are happy! Hopefully I'll be able to write another chapter in the upcoming weeks, but don't be surprised if it's not until Nov. 15th or the week after that. Please leave me some reviews!<strong>

**Much love,**

**Mo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, thank you for being so patient and waiting for this update! Unfortunately we aren't going to be seeing a lot of RinxSessh time this chapter, but it works with the ****story so don't be disappointed we won't get much action this chapter!**

**Please leave a review or follow/favorite the story if you're enjoying it!**

* * *

><p>The next morning when I woke up, I was alone. Sesshomaru was no where to be found. I sighed unhappily, more than aware that he'd stayed with me until about an hour before and then left silently, going who knew where.<p>

I sat up in the bed slowly, my bruised body aching in protest of the movements. I slid from the bed and walked over to the vanity, wincing when I saw the dark bruises that spanned from the right side of my neck to my shoulder and even a bruise the size of a hand along my wrist. I couldn't even remember him grabbing me by the wrist, but if the bruise was there then I was sure it had happened also. My head felt achy and dull, almost as if I was getting a fever. I lifted my hand and touched along the bruise by my shoulder, expecting to feel smooth skin and instead touching a cut I hadn't noticed.

My brow furrowed in the mirror as I stepped forward, careful to keep a finger pressed on the wound so I could see it in the mirror. When I was close enough to the mirror, I let my hand drop away from my shoulder, staring intently at the spot I'd been touching. There wasn't anything there. Nothing besides the bruise, anyway. I kept looking in the mirror as I brought my hand back up, moving my fingertips along the column of skin until I touched the cut again. It wasn't very deep and it wasn't bleeding, but there was a definite tear in my skin. I got as close to the mirror as I could, staring intently back at my reflected shoulder in the mirror, but there was no cut showing back at me. How weird was that?

I grabbed a change of clothes from the walk in closet before entering the bathroom, disrobing and turning on the shower. When the water was hot enough I stepped inside, grateful to be washing the hard touch of Naraku from my body, even though I would also be washing off Sesshomaru's delicious smell. I would just have to wrap my arms around him again at some point to get the smell back on my body. I might even be forced into sharing a few kisses to accomplish my task. That was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

I soaped up the loofa, running it over the rest of my body before moving it to my wounded shoulder. The loofa slid along my skin, lathering it with soap. I expected to feel a sting from the cut when the soap slid along it, but there wasn't anything at all. What on Earth was going on?

I rinsed off, turning off the shower and stepping from it. Grabbing the nearest towel, I dried myself leisurely, careful to run the towel slowly over the bruised areas of my body and to not linger on my skin. Next I brushed my teeth and changed into the jeans and matching panty and bra set I'd grabbed from my closet. I looked around, a bit surprised that I'd forgotten to grab a sweater before stepping into my bedroom, smiling in delight when Sesshomaru was standing in the middle of it, looking as if he'd been standing there for hours. Our eyes met a moment before his own eyes darkened at my lack of clothing, flashing a brilliant shade of red before he closed them and opened them a second later, his golden eyes looking back at me. He was wearing the most comfortable outfit I'd seen him in with a pair of black slacks and a deep purple sweater, almost black in its coloring.

"Good morning," I said happily, my mood lifting at the sight of him. "I thought you had left." Feeling a bit bold, I walked over to him and stood on my toes, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek before moving past him and into my closet. I'd made it a few feet before strong hands wrapped around my waist, turning me until I was caught in Sesshomaru's embrace, his lips coming down onto mine hungrily. I reacted with the same intensity, my arms wrapping around his neck and my body pressing into his, thrilled/terrified when I felt a large bulge in his slacks as our kissing deepened before it was cut off abruptly by Sesshomaru, who took a small step back from me, looking just slightly ruffled. Would he ever look less than perfect or was I 'doomed' to spend my life with someone who was always handsome? Lord Sesshomaru seemed slightly baffled, his eyes a bit wider than I'd seen them before and his mouth was slightly parted.

My eyes narrowed in confusion as I stared at him. "Is everything alright?"

"Hn." I stood still, staring at him until he gave me an actual answer. "I read that humans generally wait until their marriage vows to begin a mating."

"You mean sex?"

"Hn." I smiled at him. Was he really trying to tell me he wanted to wait until we were married before we had sex? That was... extremely cute and undemon like.

"Well, some people wait until marriage, I guess. Others don't." I made sure to look at him when I spoke next. "If we are being honest with each other, I don't care about sex before marriage happening, just as long as I'd be having sex with you." I turned back into my closet, my cheeks bright red from what I'd just said. I'd never been so blatant about anything before in my life, had I seriously just given Sesshomaru the okay to seduce me before we married? What if he sampled the product (me) and decided he no longer wished to buy it (marriage)?

I remembered what his dad had told me, using that to steady the sudden tension filling my shoulders.

I grabbed a sweater, pulling it on slowly before turning back around, a bit startled Sesshomaru was still standing a few feet in front of me. He'd been so silent since I'd spoken I had just assumed he'd left.

"Can I ask you something, my Lord?" He inclined his head slightly, an obvious go ahead. "Had you heard me play at a concert hall before I came to live here?"

"Yes."

"How many concerts did you attend that involved me?" I asked him, wanting to see if what his father told me was true or not. Sure, I believed Lord Inu Taisho, but hearing it from a third party wasn't the same thing as hearing it from the source and I needed to hear it from him.

"Seven." I raised an eyebrow at that. His dad had only mentioned four that I could remember. He'd come to see me play on his own?

"Is that how you knew I smelled like lavender and jasmine? From the other times you'd seen me play?" Lord Sesshomaru's expression turned more stony than usual, hinting that the discussion was closed. At least for now. I sighed, a bit unhappily. Just because I knew he wasn't going to answer me didn't mean I had to like it. "You know, my Lord, I truly hope that one day you'll trust me enough to confide in me." With that, I brushed past him, only stopping when he grabbed my arm, drawing me to a halt. I turned back to him, gently tugging on my arm until he let it go, his hand dropping casually to his side.

With a curl of his lip, Sesshomaru practically spat his words at me. "This Sesshomaru has no need to confide anything. It would imply feelings for a human, which this Sesshomaru does not possess."

My mouth dropped open a second before I became so angry that my jaw clenched shut, threatening to break all my teeth as I chose my next words. "For someone who claims to not have feelings for me, you hide it pretty well behind your kisses, attentiveness and protectiveness. Are you so full of self importance that you think you're too good for a human? That I'm worth nothing to you? If that's the case then tell me right now and I'll pack my things and leave and you won't ever need to see me again." Lord Sesshomaru remained silent, his face as impassable as ever. I threw my hands up in the air. "Make up your damn mind! Either you want me here or you don't, but if you do then you need to start accepting that you care for me. I thought we were making so much progress the past few days and then you do something to insult me. Why? Just so you can close yourself off again? Just because you know you desire me?" Still no reply. "Gods! You are the most aggravating demon I've ever met in my entire life, and I'll have you know, I thought Naraku was pretty damn bad." His eyes hardened at that. Good. Maybe he would actually show some emotion. "You know what? Just forget I gave you the choice to eventually love me; the poor, pathetic human. I'm just going to leave and be done with this place and definitely be done with you, you ass!"

I whirled around, intent on exiting the jumbo closet and storming out of the manor. I didn't know where the hell I planned on going, and I would probably need shoes, just as long as I got as far from Sesshomaru as possible. I groaned when Lord Sesshomaru was there, blocking the exit.

"You dare take that tone with this Sesshomaru?" I rolled my eyes, moving back into the closet and grabbing a pair of black ankle boots before placing them over my socks. "It is unwise to ignore me, Rin." My name came out as a growl on his lips. I bent down to place the shoes on my feet.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" I spat back, grabbing the first shoe to place on my feet.

The next instant I was flat on my back in the closet, an angry Sesshomaru almost sitting on top of me as each knee was on either side of my hips, his hand wrapped on my exposed throat while his other hand was latched on my hip, holding my body down. Shoes forgotten, I latched my hands on to the arm that was grabbing my throat, my eyes narrowing. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Lord Sesshomaru bent down so his nose was a few inches above mine, growling his words at me. "Teaching you your place." I let my hands move from his arm to his shoulders.

"That's funny, I thought I was teaching you yours." His eyes clouded in confusion. I wrapped my hands behind his neck, dragging his head down to mine and kissing him roughly, letting all my frustrations and anger flow from me into that kiss, hoping he would reciprocate. Sesshomaru grabbed my jaw, his clawed fingers digging into skin as he used them to pry open my mouth so his tongue could tangle with mine. I moaned as our lips pressed more firmly to each other, his tongue caressing the inside of my mouth. His hands moved down my waist, grabbing my legs and pulling them apart, allowing his body to settle in-between them, his erection pressing into me as he began to grind his hips onto mine. Why did I have to put jeans on?

I wrapped my legs around his waist, my ankles locking together to spread my thighs open, allowing him as close to my denim clad body as we could get without removing our clothes. Why weren't we removing our clothes?

Sesshomaru pressed harder into the v of my legs, the feel of his erection teasing me to the point of near madness. I broke the kiss, panting and then moaning when his lips immediately went to the side of my uninjured neck and shoulder, licking and sucking on as much of the bare skin that was available due to the sweater. "My pants." I shuddered when he nipped my skin, sending another bout of desire through me. "Sesshomaru, take my jeans off." Another growl and I heard the denim tearing harshly before the cool air from the closet made contact with my suddenly bare skin. The sweater was next, being torn from my body as well as my bra, one of his clawed fingers ripping through the front of the bra and leaving my breasts exposed.

The rough handling startled me out of my dazed, horny state, making me realize that even though I wasn't in full control of my desires, I didn't think Sesshomaru was in control of himself at all. His hands dug roughly into my hips, almost to the point of pain, as he lifted them and thrust. I gasped as I felt him press at my entrance, followed by his own deep growl of frustration at the lack of results.

"Sesshomaru?" I asked, watching him break away from me and rip at the clothing on his skin, almost as if he didn't understand why he had clothing on to begin with. The separation of bodies gave me a moment to assess how far gone he was, and judging by his appearance, I didn't think the cool, calm and collected Sesshomaru was currently in residence. "Sesshomaru?" I asked again, startled when he finally removed the last of his clothing before his head jerked up and he stared back at me.

He looked similar to how he had last night when I'd been attacked. His jaw had elongated slightly, his ears were sharper, his eyes more round and completely red, no pupil or anything lurking in them. His markings went over all of his body, and they too were longer and more pronounced than they had been when I'd seen them before. I looked down in-between his legs, blushing furiously and looking away, more than a little worried. I hadn't ever seen an actual penis before, but I knew about different sizes and such and it looked like it was going to be an intimidating fit.

I sat up, the bra straps falling from my shoulders and down my arm. I discarded what was left of my bra, trying to keep my movements light and nonthreatening.

"Sesshomaru?" I asked again, hoping he would calm down enough to come back to me. I didn't know what the more wild side of him would be like, but I didn't think I would have a gentle first time if the beast reigned over him, and I was beginning to suspect from the wild look in his eyes that sex was definitely happening. I gulped.

I found myself flat on my back again, legs pulled wide, my center exposed and vulnerable as Sesshomaru's erection pressed into my opening. I'd read plenty of romance novels, so I knew there should have been some type of preparation or foreplay down there to get my body ready for him, but I didn't think I'd be receiving that, at least not this first time.

A gasp escaped my lips and my back arched as he thrust harshly. A menacing laugh came from the man above me and as I locked eyes with the man I was in love with I screamed as Naraku's body was on top of mine. I shoved the demon off of me, the blood in my body practically freezing as I struggled to get away, my limbs struggling to move up and away from the demon haunting me.

A strong, rough hand gripped my ankle, jerking me back to where I started.

"You're mine now." The strong voice barked in my ear.

"No, no, no!" I screamed, my lungs burning.

* * *

><p>I awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and gasping, hands clutched to my heart as it beat rapidly beneath my shaking hands.<p>

Oh crap, I'd dreamed that whole thing? I looked around my room and Sesshomaru was indeed gone, just like my dream. How odd. Well, no. No, it wasn't that odd. It was a perfectly normal thing to happen. I mean, the odds were fifty/fifty, so it wasn't creepy at all. And there was definitely no Naraku. Oh gods, how could I have such a horrid dream that Naraku was masquerading as Sesshomaru and stole my virginity?

I wiped some of the sweat from my brow, my entire body shaking as I threw back the covers and stepped out of the bed, my body slowly sinking down until my feet touched the soft, plush carpet.

Not wasting any time I went over to the vanity to see the damage my body had undergone the night before. From my tank top I could see the bruise on my shoulder and the faint finger marks under my chin where Naraku had gripped my throat. One of my legs was bruised and one of my wrists had dark splotches on it as well, but at least nothing was broken. Other than the bruises on my body, everything else looked fine.

Remembering my dream, I brought my hand up to the bruised shoulder and ran my fingertips along the smooth skin. I almost sighed in relief until I felt an abrasion on my skin, the exact same place I'd felt it in my dream. My eyes widened, reflected back at me in the mirror as I looked at where the cut should have been.

There was nothing there.

* * *

><p>I stepped from the shower, feeling slightly better as I gently toweled off, some of the dream fading from my mind and into the background. It was just a dream, I had nothing to be worried about. I reached for my clothes, putting on the matching bra set I'd grabbed and putting on the jeans I'd brought in with me. My throat dried when I realized I didn't have a shirt. Hadn't I brought a sweater?<p>

Wasn't that just like in my dream?

I walked over to the bathroom door, almost afraid to open it. What if Sesshomaru was on the other side of that door? Or worse, what if it wasn't him, but it was Naraku? I stood in the bathroom with my hand on the doorknob, unsure of what to do. I was at war with myself. Did I open the door and face whatever awaited me, or did I hide in the bathroom and hope that nothing was on the other side of that door?

It was just a dream. _It was just a dream. _I knew that, instinctively. Naraku was a demon, but he didn't have the power to go into someone's mind, did he? No. Of course not. I was just shaken up from everything that had happened the night before. Traumatized was probably a better word for it. Nothing was wrong, nothing ominous was happening, I was just having some odd coincidences due to the dream I'd had. It was nothing. Nothing.

I closed my eyes, gripping the doorknob even harder and breathed in deeply before twisting the knob and exiting my bathroom.

I shouldn't have been, but I found myself immensely relieved when Lord Sesshomaru wasn't waiting for me.

the thought was almost as disconcerting as it was relieving.

* * *

><p>To my surprise, as I made my way down a few sets of stairs and to the main floor of the diner, I heard a bunch of commotion coming from the kitchen and informal dining area where Kagome and I usually ate lunch and dinner. I passed a few maids on the way to the dining room, nodding politely as I went by. Most of them were demons and barely gave me a second glance when I wished them a good morning, and considering the evening I had had, I didn't feel in the mood to be as joyful as I normally was.<p>

When I reached the dining area I was startled to see Inuyasha, Kagome, Lord Inu Taisho and a gorgeous young woman with long black hair sitting around the table, their plates full of all types of breakfast foods.

The woman who must have been Izayoi stood up from her chair, a bright smile plastered on her face as she rushed towards me, giving me a big hug that was wonderful in its warmth even if it it did cause an ache to spread through all the bruises on my battered body.

"Oh darling, how lovely it is to see you, even if it is under such poor circumstances. Please, call me Izayoi. Come have a seat and eat with us," Lady Izayoi took my hand, leading me to an open chair and pulling it back for me as she made her way to her own seat, right next to Lord Inu Taisho.

"How are you this morning, Rin?" Lord Inu asked me, his fork resting on his plate as he stared at me intently, waiting on an answer.

"I'm okay. A bit tired from everything, but I'm alright. Sesshomaru came just in time last night, otherwise it could have been much worse." Lord Inu's eyes softened slightly at my words, almost as if he didn't believe my answer. Granted, after the nightmare I had I wasn't sure if I was completely sure of my answer either, but it seemed like an appropriate thing to say. I cleared my throat. "Um, is Sesshomaru not here?"

"Oh dear," Lady Izayoi said softly, almost as if she felt sorry for me. "Lord Sesshomaru has left the country." My heart skipped a beat, my mouth dried in dread and my eyes widened in disbelief. He left me? "Only for a short while, I'm sure." She said kindly, smiling sadly at me.

"Yes, he has found a lead on this Naraku scoundrel and left early this morning after him. He took his faithful servant Jaken with him and hopefully he deals with Naraku swiftly so that he might return to you as soon as possible." Lord Inu Taisho grabbed a plate, filling it with food before he reached across the table and set the plate down in front of me. Kagome diligently filled my empty glass with orange juice and smiling at my sympathetically. They were waiting on me almost as if they were afraid the simplest of movements would shatter me into a million pieces.

"Oh." Was all I said. I furrowed my brow as I stared down at the normally delicious plate of food. For some reason the food seemed like acid, the smell of it burning my nostrils and making me feel nauseous. A slight feel of nausea swept through me, making me scoot the plate away from me quickly, afraid the smell would make me vomit in front of everyone. I looked up at the worried faces around me, smiling politely. "I'm alright, really. I just wish Sesshomaru would have told me before he left." A few more sympathetic looks and I was about ready to rip the hair from my head in exasperation. Why were they staring at me like that? I stood up, my chair pushing back on the hardwood floor with a godawful scraping noise. "I'm not hungry at the moment, so I think I'll just go to my room and rest. Maybe play the piano beforehand if that wouldn't bother anyone." A chorus of 'no' and 'go ahead' filled the room before I smiled at the group at the table. "It was lovely to meet you Lady Izayoi and hopefully you'll be staying for a while so we can all get better acquainted."

With that I left the room and made my way to the piano, hoping it would make me feel even a little bit close to Sesshomaru. I couldn't believe he left and didn't tell me? Surely I was worth more to him than for him to just leave without uttering a word to me? Wasn't I?

I stared at the piano, unsure if I should play or not. Playing did always make me feel better, but right now all I felt was melancholy. I was just attacked by one of his rivals and he chose to run off and leave me alone? Granted, he was going off to hunt down the demon who hurt me, so I should have found it endearing, right? Instead, all I found it to be was distressful. Who would protect me now if something else happened? I could handle myself around regular humans, but demons? I wouldn't stand a chance by myself.

I lifted the box covering the piano keys, my fingers delicately stroking the instrument as I stared at the music sheets in front of me. I'd purchased some a few days ago, a lot of the sheets of music more recent songs from current singers and songwriters. I looked through the rather large selection of music and picked a song by Demi Lovato, working the keys until I found the match to the music sheet.

**This is a story that I have never told**  
><strong>I gotta get this off my chest to let it go<strong>  
><strong>I need to take back the light inside you stole<strong>  
><strong>You're a criminal<strong>  
><strong>And you steal like you're a pro<strong>

**All the pain and the truth**  
><strong>I wear like a battle wound<strong>  
><strong>So ashamed, so confused<strong>  
><strong>I was broken and bruised<strong>

**Now I'm a warrior**  
><strong>Now I've got thicker skin<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>I'm stronger than I've ever been<strong>  
><strong>And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>And you can never hurt me again<strong>

**Out of the ashes, I'm burning like a fire**  
><strong>You can save your apologies, you're nothing but a liar<strong>  
><strong>I've got shame, I've got scars<strong>  
><strong>That I will never show<strong>  
><strong>I'm a survivor<strong>  
><strong>In more ways than you know<strong>

**Cause all the pain and the truth**  
><strong>I wear like a battle wound<strong>  
><strong>So ashamed, so confused<strong>  
><strong>I'm not broken or bruised<strong>

**Cause now I'm a warrior**  
><strong>Now I've got thicker skin<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>I'm stronger than I've ever been<strong>  
><strong>And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>And you can never hurt me<strong>

**There's a part of me I can't get back**  
><strong>A little girl grew up too fast<strong>  
><strong>All it took was once, I'll never be the same<strong>  
><strong>Now I'm taking back my life today<strong>  
><strong>Nothing left that you can say<strong>  
><strong>Cause you are never gonna take the blame anyway<strong>

**Now I'm a warrior**  
><strong>I've got thicker skin<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>I'm stronger than I've ever been<strong>  
><strong>And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in<strong>  
><strong>I'm a warrior<strong>  
><strong>And you can never hurt me again<strong>

**You can never hurt me again**

I stood from the bench, carefully swiping away any lingering tears on my face before turning around to leave the ballroom. Kagome stood in the doorway, a sad look on her face as our eyes met.

I sighed loudly before walking over and then brushing past her, for some reason extremely irritated at the intrusion. "I don't want to talk, Kagome. Alright? Just give me a few days to be alone."

"You know he left because he's trying to protect you, right?"

I shrugged my shoulders, not bothering to slow my steps as Kagome rushed to my side. "Surely you know he didn't just abandon you, Rin."

"Logically I know he didn't leave me high and dry Kagome, but it just hurts that he left without so much as a word to me. I just thought he would have let me know. I'll get over it. Now I'm going to go take a nap and I'll be down when I'm less tired, okay?"

I didn't wait for Kagome to answer me. I walked calmly up to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and laying on the bed, fully clothed. A dull ache on my shoulder reminded me of the odd cut I couldn't see on my body. I should have remembered to tell someone about it, but it seemed to slip my mind almost as soon as I remembered it was there. The cut throbbed painfully for another moment and then I was shutting my eyes, drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

><p>I sat at the piano with a delicate, black silk nightgown covering me down to my thighs, the darkness surrounding me uncomfortably as I played something dark and sinister. My hands flew across the keys, practically slamming down on the ivory keys as the music swelled in and around me. I couldn't stop playing, couldn't pull my hands away from the piano, almost as if some unseen force was keeping me in place. I played and played, the music moving through me uncontrollably as the panic began to set in. I glanced at the room in front of me, expecting to see the ballroom I was accustomed to being in. Instead I found myself in a room that looked like the walls were made of flesh, the veins along them pulsating to the rhythm of the music. I shuddered, crying out when rough hands placed themselves on my delicate shoulders, a body pressing into my back.<p>

I didn't have to turn around to know who was standing behind me.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered out, my hands finally stilling on the piano, even though I was incapable of moving to get away from Naraku, who stood behind me.

Naraku bent down, his lips touching my ear before he whispered, "I want you to suffer unimaginable agony in every way I know how. I want you to feel nothing but sadness and misery when you are with anything you hold dear to your heart, including your precious Sesshomaru. I will destroy you to destroy him and when he is at his weakest, I will kill that demon mongrel and take what he considers his most precious possession; you." He placed his hands in my hair, jerking my head back until I was forced to stare up at his face, my back bending painfully in the process.

"Sesshomaru is going to kill you for hurting me."

Naraku smiled evilly, his head lowering until his lips were almost on top of mine. I wanted to shove him away from me, to scream in his face and beat him up with my fists, but in that moment I was incapable of moving at all. What was going on?

"How can he do anything to me when the only place I can be found is in your dreams? Do you think he can escape into your subconscious and vanquish me? Foolish girl. I'm here with you, lurking inside of you until you become a shadow of everything you once were. There is no fleeing from me, for I reside in the darkest places of your mind, in your heart, and soon you will fear the thought of even resting your eyes because you will know that in an instant I will be with you, bending you to my will until nothing of you remains but misery and heartache. I will break you as surely as I will destroy your lover and then you will be mine. Forever."

Naraku pressed his lips to mine, biting my lip painfully. At the sudden burst of pain I could move again and I shoved him away from me, using the moment to rush from the bench and towards where I thought the door might be. I tripped over a vein in the floor, falling into the squishy floor and smacking my head into the ground.

* * *

><p>I sat up groggily, my head pounding painfully. I looked up from the floor, realizing I'd fallen off the bed at some point during my nap. Tears streaked down my face and I put my hands over my eyes, crying into them silently. I crawled to a corner of the room that was the least noticeable upon entry and brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping an arm around them as I bent my head into my knees and cried.<p>

What was happening to me?

* * *

><p><strong>Okay everyone, thanks for reading this past chapter! Sorry I wasn't able to update the past few weeks, but now that my relative is gone it's been a bit easier to focus on writing, even though I'm back at work again also. Please feel free to leave reviews on this chapter and hopefully I can get some more followsfavorites on this story!**

**BTW, be on the lookout for another RinxSessh story, because I've got a lot of ideas brewing in my mind and I have a feeling they'll have to be formed into a story before I lose my mind!**

**-Mo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a few weeks since I updated this story, I got started on another one and it's been taking some time to get it up and running successfully (it's another RinxSessh story called 'Someone To Protect' so if you're looking for another story to read, please feel free to give it a shot). Anyway, please leave me some reviews on this chapter and I'm excited to say that I've got over 100 followers on this story and I'm pretty close to getting 100 favorites! So thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying this story, it really makes me happy knowing others are enjoying it as well.**

* * *

><p>I had to stay awake.<p>

No, I needed to stay awake. Every single time I found myself drifting off to sleep I would spend the next several hours of my life being tortured by Naraku in various ways. Normally it was just verbal assaults about how I was alone and unimportant and other times he would hurt me, sometimes even being so severe I awoke with fresh bruises on my skin. It had been going on for three days before I finally found my way to a pharmacy and bribed a technician to give me some prescription drugs over the counter to help me stay awake. I just needed to keep myself from dreaming and so far the only way I knew to do that was to stay up, never allow myself rest. Another four days had passed since I began taking the pills, a full week without Sesshomaru in my life and a full week of being terrified of my own shadow. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I just stayed in my bedroom with all the lights on, ignoring Kagome if she came down the hallway and stood outside my door. She never knocked, but I knew she lingered.

I had hurt her feelings when I had told her to leave me alone, something I never would have said to her had I not been so confused about Sesshomaru leaving and the rotten dream I'd had. After the piano nightmare I'd had another the same night, except this time Naraku threatened all the people I loved, saying if I told anyone his plans for me then he would slaughter us all, letting Kagome die first with her unborn child. He even said I could watch while he ripped the embryo out of her body and fed it to her. So far, it was the worst dream I'd had with him in it, and in some of them he killed me.

Could I even call them dreams? Naraku was intruding into my mind at almost any chance he could get, sometimes he would place an image of Sesshomaru in front of me, making me believe Sesshomaru was there with me, lulling me into a false sense of safety. It never lasted, always followed by another image of Sesshomaru lying dead at my feet while Naraku laughed sinisterly off into the distance. Sometimes he allowed me to wake up after that, but mostly he only took me farther into the fears normally kept locked deep inside my mind.

My head tilted back into the wall, resting there a moment before I snapped my head up and stood, dusting off the sweatpants I'd had on for the past two days. I needed a shower, but there had been a dream where Naraku watched me bathe before locking me into the shower stall and drowning me in it. It sounded absurd, believe me, but the water just filled up in the rectangle I was trapped in until it was above my head and I couldn't come to the surface because Naraku held my ankle at the bottom of the shower stall. So I drowned in an exact replica of the shower in my bathroom.

I shivered, scratching at the itch that had been consistently at my shoulder for days. It was probably some nervous tick from the lack of sleep. Four days straight with no sleep at all had left me irritable, exhausted, given me headaches, and made my body almost lethargic. I didn't know what else to do and the pills I'd paid an obscene amount of money for were nearly out.

I walked over to the vanity mirror, still scratching at the junction of my neck and my shoulder. Afraid I'd scratched it raw, I pulled back the neck of my shirt and stared in the mirror at my shoulder. I was relieved to see it looked completely fine, as it had the past week every time I had seen it in the mirror, but it was odd that there were no red marks or blemishes on my shoulder from the constant scratching.

I bent forward to get a better look at my shoulder from the mirror, squinting my eyes at the perfect display of skin on my upper torso. Not even a red mark? Not a white line from my nails as I'd scratched it? Wasn't it a bit odd? I did notice how awful I looked in the mirror, though.

My hair was dull, my eyes were dark and sunken in, even my body seemed thinner from the lack of sleep and food I'd been getting the past week. The only time I'd even left my room was late at night to keep myself from passing out. If I happened to find my way into the kitchen then I would make a snack and attempt to eat it, but a lot of times I forgot to eat, or I remembered the nightmare where Naraku made me eat an entire tray of maggots while I sat at a dining room table made out of spiders.

I shuddered at the thought, my reflection coming across as extremely pitiful. I glared at the mirror, watching the image glare back. How could I have allowed Naraku to turn me into this cowering mess? Just because a man had left me alone for more than a week without a phone call? Just because someone thought it was okay to take over my dreams and make me see things no one should ever see? I was stronger than that, wasn't I?

Was I?

I looked at myself in the mirror again, before sighing in defeat. I needed a shower. I turned my head, staring at the bathroom rather ominously. I wasn't asleep. I could take a shower and Naraku couldn't get to me. He'd been silent in my head ever since I decided to stay up and not sleep. I had had days to strengthen my resolve, to be stronger, and instead I'd spent it wasting away in my bedroom. I was better than that. I wasn't the future mate of one of the greatest dog demons on the planet because I was a scaredy cat, was I? No, it was because I was awesome.

I stared back at the sad image in the mirror. I just needed to remember how great I truly was.

* * *

><p>I showered. I left the shower stall open the entire time, afraid of the shower filling up with water and drowning me. The image kept flashing in my mind, but it wasn't as strong as it had been the first time I'd bathed after that particular nightmare. Probably because I'd used the tub to bathe as opposed to the shower, hoping it would harbor less negative feelings. It hadn't so this time I had been sure to use the shower. It was mostly a large success. I had only hyperventilated once. Unfortunately the bathroom tile had been soaked in water by the time I'd finished showering, so I had to use some towels to clean up the mess. I'd been afraid I'd fall down and add yet another bruise to my long list of dark splotches covering my body, but I'd been fine.<p>

After I had braided my long hair and dressed in something that hid how fragile my body looked, I finally exited the bedroom in the middle of the day, making my way down the hallway, slowly down the stairs, down another hallway and into the dining room where a maid was waiting, asking if I would like any food.

After a hesitant nod, the maid left to inform the cook and I pulled out a chair and sat down, staring at the table almost as if I expected it to morph into a few thousand tarantulas while I waited.

The image flashed into my mind, making me think I was back there, sitting at the spider table while Naraku shoved maggots down my throat. It was so real, so life-like, I jumped back, knocking my chair over and stumbling into Kagome who was standing right next to me. When had she gotten there?

"Rin?" Kagome asked, her soothing voice bringing tears to my eyes. God, why had I been avoiding her? I looked up at my cousin, our eyes meeting before I burst into tears, hugging her to me as if she were a lifeline. "Rin, you don't look well. What's wrong?" What was wrong? What wasn't wrong? Everything, everything in my life was crashing down around me. I was incapable of doing anything out of absolute fear of what lurked deep in my mind, ready to destroy me and those I loved. The one person who might have been able to protect me was far away, most likely not returning to me for several more weeks. Sesshomaru hadn't bothered contacting me at all, and the vicious voice in my head was making me think maybe he didn't care, perhaps he never did. Everything was wrong.

I stared at Kagome before clutching my head in my hands, one of my dreams beginning to clash with reality. I was seeing Kagome, but I was also seeing Naraku standing behind her, smiling menacingly at the young woman in front of him. My lip trembled as I stared, tears falling down my face. My hands shook as I pulled them through the tangled mess that was my hair.

"I... I don't. I mean, I can't..."

_"Would you like to bare witness to the destruction of your entire family? Everyone you hold dear? Perhaps I'll start with Kagome and the mutt growing in her belly. Wouldn't it be fascinating to watch her die? First, I'll shove my fist through her belly, find the seed Inuyasha planted in her weeks ago and rip it from her body. When she screams out in agony I'll shove it down her throat, all while you watch, before I rip out her beating heart and give it to you."_

I jerked out of Kagome's embrace, tears running down my face. "I'm fine."

Kagome's eyes widened at the lie before softening in pity. "Rin, whatever it is, it's killing you. I can feel it, standing so closely to you now. It's sinister, evil."

"Leave it alone, Kagome." The maid walked in with a tray of food, all various assortments I generally would have loved. Instead, the food made me nauseous, almost as if it was old and expired. Even the smell made me feel sick. I backed up, keeping both of them in my line of sight. I bumped into someone, sucking in a startled breath before turning around and coming face to face with Inuyasha.

His eyes widened, like Kagome's had at the sight of me. "Jesus, Rin. You look sick as hell. When was the last time you ate?" _Two days ago. _He cast a worried glance at Kagome before returning his gaze to me. "Father spoke to Sesshomaru yesterday, but he hasn't made any progress. Maybe you should call him? I'm sure if he knew you weren't doing so well without him he would give up his search and come home." _Call. Call him. Yes. Call Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru! _I clutched my hands over my ears, trying to drown out the scream in my mind for Sesshomaru.

"I can't. I can't, okay? Just stop."

"Who are you talking to, Rin?" Kagome asked me, coming to stand close to me. Too close.

"Just leave me alone!" I dropped my hands, backing away from them before turning around to run away.

Inuyasha reached out and latched a hand onto my covered wrist. I cried out in pain, his grip landing on a painful bruise I'd received from Naraku that had yet to heal. None of my bruises had healed. I ripped out of his hold, not bothering to explain anything as I ran back up to my room, letting the door close softly behind me.

* * *

><p>"What the fuck was that, Kagome?" Inuyasha cast a worried glance at his fiancé. He hadn't seen Rin in what felt like a week and he sure as hell didn't remember her looking so banged up or frightened, even after she was attacked by Naraku in her own home. Kagome shook her head sadly, unsure of how to answer.<p>

"Inuyasha... I don't want this to sound weird, but her aura... I can sense it and it's not right. It's tainted. Sick. Something is hurting her, something evil." Inuyasha furrowed his brow, placing a gentle arm around Kagome's waist, allowing her to bask in his embrace while they held one another.

"I think I should tell Sesshomaru what's happening. He'll need to know so he can travel back here as soon as possible. You're right about something being evil with Rin. I could still smell traces of Naraku on her, which is weird considering that night his scent wasn't anywhere to be found. Sesshomaru needs to know that."

Kagome gasped, pulling away from him. "Do you think Naraku is up there with her?"

"No, father would be able to sense him if he were." At least, Inuyasha hoped so. Noticing that his hands were now free, Inuyasha grabbed his phone from his pocket, pressing 3 on his speed dial and placing the device up to his ear.

"What." Inuyasha almost growled at the tone in Sesshomaru's voice, but thought better of it under the circumstances.

"You need to get home as soon as possible. When was the last time you talked to Rin?"

"It is not your concern."

"Actually, asshole, it is." There was a small silence.

"What has happened with Rin?"

"Answer my question, Sesshomaru."

"We spoke the night before I departed." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Figures his brother couldn't be bothered to get ahold of the poor girl.

"She's been avoiding us all for days and when she came down today, it was evident that she'd lost weight, she doesn't seem to be sleeping well, if at all, and she was behaving erratically." More silence. "She also smelled of Naraku."

The phone went dead. Inuyasha pushed the device back into his pocket, smiling happily at Kagome. "I'm pretty sure he'll be here as soon as possible." Kagome sighed in relief, hoping that they'd call Sesshomaru in time.

"I think we should go upstairs and check on her. I thought she'd been mad at me the last week, that's why I haven't pushed her or bugged her. But seeing her now..." Kagome shuddered before grabbing Inuyasha's hand and dragging him with her towards the staircase. "I don't think we should be leaving her alone."

Normally Inuyasha would have argued with Kagome, not enjoying being tugged around like a dog on a leash, but Kagome was right. Rin had been alone long enough.

* * *

><p><em>No. No. No. No. NO!<em>

Where were my pills? They were gone! I ripped my room apart, the effort and my haste causing me to tire far too easily as I searched for what belonged to me. Why couldn't I find what I was looking for? Why would I have moved them from their location?

As soon as I'd run from my family and into my room I'd been looking for those pills, but now I couldn't find them. I'd been keeping them on my nightstand next to a glass of water but they'd apparently vanished. I sighed wearily, sinking on to the bed. I must have moved them, I just didn't remember. The past week had been so hectic, so terrifying that it made sense after four days without sleep I would misplace things, not remember certain events that must have happened. Being locked up in my room made the time drag on into eternity, it would be completely logical to have placed them somewhere I wouldn't normally and then completely forget about it. I shut my eyes, my body relaxing under the comfort of the mattress. It made sense.

It had to to make sense.

My body shifted of its own accord, falling backward onto the bed. The will to stay awake left me, the exhaustion creeping in until that was all I knew.

* * *

><p><em>"Did you think you could escape me forever?" Naraku smiled, his face contorting into a brief glimpse of his rage before a mask slid over, hiding the expressions on his face. "Poor little Rin. Were you looking for these?" He held up the small orange bottle, shaking it for effect as the pills rattled around inside. I winced at the sound, not knowing why it was amplified, but not caring because it was so loud it was messing with my head. <em>

_When had I fallen asleep? And how had Naraku taken my medicine? There was no way he should have been able to come into the mansion, right? It was more protected ever since he'd come in the first time undetected. Had he ever left?_

_"But, how do you have those? How?" Naraku smiled again, throwing the pills over his shoulder before grabbing my waist and dragging me to him. The bottle hit the far wall of my bedroom and I felt bile rise in my throat at the contact, the smell of his body making me gag._

_Why were we still in my bedroom? Every other time I'd gone to sleep, baring the first dream I'd had with Sesshomaru that Naraku had taken over, I'd always been in some terrifying scenario, never in something so normal as my bedroom. Granted, the room had an odd tint to it, almost a dull blue, like I was seeing it through a filter that left a certain haze around the bedroom. Almost as if I was seeing it from a different plane of reality. It was interesting. Captivating. I looked around with what room I had, being captured in Naraku's arms and gasped when I noticed myself lying on the bed. I was wearing the same outfit I had on now, but my body was clearly sleeping._

_It was almost like astral projection._

_I didn't understand. Nothing in my dreams had ever been like this before. What the hell was happening?_

_"Don't be such a fool, Rin. Don't you know it is I who control you? I am your master. You've been living your past few days in absolute terror, something I have relished in every moment. You can't escape me, for I am always in you. When you see a flash from your dream, that is me projecting those images into your mind. When you find your hands pulling your hair painfully, it is I pulling your strings. Without your precious Sesshomaru to guard you, you're more vulnerable than I had even realized." He snapped his fingers and my body lying on the bed sat up, my eyes opening, my expression vacant. How did he do that? I couldn't be that vulnerable, could I? That easy to manipulate, to control?_

_"I'm not!"_

_Naraku laughed, turning me around to face the mirror in my bedroom. I watched from the other side of the mirror as my body placed my legs over the side of the canopy bed, before standing and turning towards us. It was unsettling, watching my body from outside of it. What was he going to do to me? Could I fight it? I shut my eyes tightly, trying in vain to get my body to stop moving, but when I opened them a few seconds later, I realized my attempt had been in vain. _

_"Don't you see, Rin? You've gone days without sleeping, in fact, you're awake right now. I've merely captured your mind with mine while your body remains awake and vulnerable. How easy would it be, to just..."_

_I watched in the mirror as my body moved of its own accord to the vanity, opening a drawer and reaching inside, pulling out a pair of scissors. What the fuck. I didn't keep scissors in there, I didn't. I DIDN'T. A light from the bedroom hit the scissors, causing a glint to reflect in the mirror and blind my eyes. For a second I was back in my body, staring at the mirror in confusion. The next I was back in Naraku's clutches, staring at myself._

_I wasn't sure how I was standing with Naraku, but also standing in my bedroom. I was too different people, in a sense. My mind was held captive in a different plane while my body was in the present, following the command of Naraku and his will. He had me totally at his mercy, and in the past week I knew for a fact Naraku had no mercy in him. He was corrupt and evil to the core._

_"What are you going to do?"_

_"You thought to defy my will, to disobey me by attempting to remain out my reach. I plan on teaching you a lesson." Naraku lifted his hand up in the air, smiling cruelly. His other hand gripped my chin, pointing my head at the woman in front of me, daring me to look away. I couldn't even if I had tried, my eyes watching in terror at the event that unfolded before me._

_I was forcibly turned and watched as my body lifted the pair of scissors up in the air before jamming them into my chest, a few inches from my heart._

* * *

><p>Oh gods. There was blood everywhere. It was all over the sweater I had on, it was on the vanity, on my hands and all over the scissors still imbedded in my chest. What the fuck. What the fuck, WHAT THE FUCK? I was still standing in front of the vanity, one of my hands still wrapped tightly around the pair of scissors protruding from my chest.<p>

I wheezed, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground if I hadn't landed into a nearby wall, my bloody hands smearing the wall as it held me up until I made it to the bedroom door. It took a few tries to twist the knob, seeing as how the blood on my hands made the doorknob slippery. Once I was out of my bedroom, I stumbled, falling on my hands and knees in the center of the hallway. I stared down at the blades in my chest, crying out as the fall jarred its movement, causing more blood to pour from the wound and to the floor. I stared down at the rug in the hallway, noting that deep red blood didn't look good once it soaked into the rich fabric. The blood on my hands was drying and I think I was in shock as I merely stared at the blood pooling from my body. Was I dying? It didn't feel super painful. Shouldn't it have felt really painful? The only thing I could think of was that I was ruining a probably extremely old priceless rug, and that I wasn't going to see Sesshomaru before I died. That hurt to think about, more so than the scissors piercing my chest.

"I smell blood, Kagome." I heard shouted from downstairs, almost sighing in relief at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. Maybe I wouldn't die alone, maybe I could see Kagome one last time and wish her well with Inuyasha before I finally died. I should have realized this was what Naraku had planned from the beginning. To torment and then eventually kill me, especially if he thought he could accomplish all of this while Sesshomaru was gone. What better way to hurt Sesshomaru than letting him know he was incapable of protecting me?

Loud footfalls were coming closer to the hallway now coated in my blood. They were coming for me. The first good news I'd heard in a week.

"Oh, gods. Rin!" Kagome appeared out of thin air, crying hysterically as Inuyasha picked me up and sprinted down the hallway.

"Could you please run more gracefully? You're moving my chest too much." I said to him calmly, probably far too calmly. I shut my eyes.

* * *

><p>I was in a car, Kagome sobbing as she brushed my hair back from my face, her hands bloody. "Kag-" I gurgled, coughing up blood as I tried to call her name. I couldn't lift my hands. My body wasn't working right. The only thing I felt was the cold that was seeping into my body.<p>

"Inuyasha, hurry!" Kagome touched my hair again. "Please, Rin. You have to stay awake, okay?" I tried to nod as she cried heavily in the seat next to my head, but my limbs weren't cooperating with me. "Sesshomaru is on his way, and he'll know what to do, so just hold on, okay? Hold on for him. You have to do that. Just hold on."

I blinked rapidly, the sun either setting or my vision dimming.

* * *

><p>It occurred to me I was blacking out when I was on a gurney, flying through a hallway. The lights in the ceiling flashed by at an incredible speed. I felt like I was flying. Maybe death was similar to flying.<p>

* * *

><p>Golden eyes. Golden eyes were looking at me through my groggy haze. Golden eyes held mine captive until I fell asleep. It was the first time I slept without interruption in a week.<p> 


End file.
